


You Rip What You Saw

by 1_800_SAT_ANIC



Series: DOOM/Reader [1]
Category: Doom (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence, DOOMGUY HOT, Domestic Bliss, Doom, Doom 2016 - Freeform, Doom Eternal, Doom Eternal DLC, Doom Eternal: Ancient Gods, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Female Reader, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Reader-Insert, Reverse Harem, Romantic Tension, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:21:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 124,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1_800_SAT_ANIC/pseuds/1_800_SAT_ANIC
Summary: scheduled updates every 2 weeksbook covermy discord server , tumblr , instagram , and more !---This book takes place in the ruins of Earth, mid-invasion during DOOM ETERNAL. It doesn't follow the exact plot points of the game, but it's virtually the same.Khan Maykr and the hell priests control fleets of demons to go to different places and take over, making sure all life besides their own has been destroyed.The Doom Slayer and Vega aid the Earth in warding off hordes of demons, making sure the Maykrs and demons can never get their wish of ultimate destruction.After the absolute destruction of Olivia Pierce, the cultist half of the UAC is slowly dwindling away. The newly formed ARC is under command of Samuel Hayden.You haven't seen a human in weeks, months even... Only demons. You're beginning to think you're the last one left. None of these research logs were making any sense, either; rotting away in this underground UAC lab was making you insane, but you have to figure out what happened here.
Relationships: Doom Slayer | Doomguy/Reader, Doom Slayer | Doomguy/You, Marauder(s) (Doom)/Reader, Marauder(s) (Doom)/You, Samuel Hayden/Reader, Samuel Hayden/You, VEGA (Doom)/Reader, VEGA (Doom)/You
Series: DOOM/Reader [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755928
Comments: 257
Kudos: 650





	1. 01 | EMERGENCE : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to those of you who have supported me since the first chapter ; thank you ♥️ you are appreciated ‼️

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It was deadly quiet, even the distant growls of faraway demons wouldn't wrack the Slayer as he made his way down the bare halls. The monochromatic concrete was slathered in crimson red remnants of the ex-marine's enemies.

No one was here, besides slumped over bodies of pale zombies and sickening demons. The Slayer had already devoid all pathetic life from the corpses, wringing out their necks as if they were wet washcloths and cracking their spines as if they were one of his finger joints. The Slayer was keen on doing so, it was his job after all.

Some say he was ruthless, lacking penitence. Rumors and stories were told about the mysterious male by humans in bunkering shelters, some say he was a rogue demon, some say he's just as simple as they are, others prophesize he is a God sent down to wreak havoc upon the demons as they did to their race. When in reality he was just seeking vengeance (albeit it mercilessly and forcefully); he was fighting and saving what was right, holding on to what little righteous dignity he held.

Now, his heavy iron footsteps filled the empty halls. The dilapidated UAC building he was inside was barren, even in the main room— which is where the Slayer was searching now, he had already slaughtered all the demons throughout the whole building and was now forging for an armor upgrade Vega had appointed him to.

The tinted, black, 2-inch thick bulletproof glass shielding the most important inner mechanisms of the building's core had been shattered as if it was nothing. A giant demon skull with horns thicker than the Slayer's biceps protruded out one side of the wall, hinting that this was the creature that caused the ultimate demise of the power source.

The Slayer was disgruntled, to say the least. He couldn't seem to find the secret entrance Vega had referenced and kept on checking his holographic map, but it remained unseen.

The Slayer noticed a large patch of overgrown vines with soft light cascading through the small cracks between the roots. _Aha_ , the secret will be his at last! With one swift movement, the vines were ripped apart due to the sheer force of him and his army green gauntlet. Behind the overgrowth was an unseen hallway.

He reloaded his double-barrel shotgun with a grin, expecting some big Maykr drone or Arachnotron to be standing there guarding his trophy _at least_ , but... one thing stood out to the Slayer as he turned the corner: there were dead enemies although he hadn't entered this secret hallway before. Usually, they'd be meandering about or gnawing on other demons to provoke fights. But here... _nothing_.

Usually, underneath that helmet of his, he'd be grinning at the sight of perished demons, but this sight made him frown.

He carried on throughout the vine-covered walls, kicking the bodies over to make sure they were dead, hopefully, to get some information about Samuel. The Slayer had only kicked partially robotic asses, he wanted Samuel fucking Hayden to be his first fully bionic ass-kicking session. But, with all the protection from his UAC members and the obscurity of his whereabouts, it wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Vega's voice shook within the Slayer's helmet, "It seems... There is an unknown entity in this direction. I suggest you continue towards your main objective while I try to decipher what it is."

The Slayer stood, aiming his shotgun out towards the hallway. The fluorescent lights were flickering, creating an ominous droning buzz. He shook his head, the Slayer turned down the hall, he wanted a challenge. He wanted to blow someone's brains out! He wanted to continue fucking them demons up!

"Don't get too cocky, this could be serious. I'm aware you are in dire need of new armor from your last mission, but maybe this one isn't worth it right now. You are wearing your _weakest_ set after all."

The Slayer looked down at his armor. Vega was right, he might as well be wearing a tin can, thimble, and metal bucket on his head.

"You can always come back after the threat has been eradicated, or your stronger armor is repaired."

You're _damn right_ he's fucking coming back! He wasn't going to just let that sweet new armor go to waste! The Slayer stomped his way back down the hallway and climbed back through the overgrowth. The burly male made his way back towards the main room to do one last area sweep and hopefully some more chainsaw grinding and gun firing.

After some time, it seemed that the only demons he was encountering were the ones through hidden slayer doors and secret encounters. No matter how many corners he scoured, or how many hallways he revisited, it was always clean and clear. It was... disconcerting to say the least.

Have one of the Maykrs ordered their invasion to be carried out elsewhere? Is this place no longer guarded and the troops have fled because one told their commander of the Slayer's presence? Is there any way that presence was a Maykr or a Priest? Or is he just so buff he already wiped the hoard all out?

The Slayer wiggled his eyebrows at himself, patting his biceps.

Ironically, the itch of not killing anything was seeming to kill the ex-marine himself, his finger twitched on the trigger on his lug of a firearm as he passed already mutilated corpses. All he could do at this point was smash his massive boot against their skulls and let the innards spill out onto the metal flooring.

He decided that he was bored, and clicked on some of his favorite metal music to pass the time. Cheesy, he knows, but what _else_ was he supposed to do when his _whole_ mission was to come here and dispose of the demons but all of them have already been taken care of?

The speakers in his helmet crackled on over his music, "I don't think we are needed here any longer. All of our enemies have been subdued." The Slayer sighed, however, his large shoulders perked back up in excitement from Vega's next statement, "There is another distress call incoming, make it to the parking garage and I can teleport you out."

Doom Slayer threw his locked and loaded gun over his shoulder, marching out to haul some ass in the parking garage. He was already covered in sweat due to the countless concrete pillars he had to traverse over and multiple death pits he had to clear, so by the time he had arrived on the demon covered scene, he was a little winded. Did that stop him, though?

Hell no, this was _just what he wanted._

Blast after blast, bullet after bullet; he ransacked his way through the army of demonic soldiers. Blood punch here, neck snap there, spine break over here, blast to the face a little over there.

If heaven was real— And The Slayer is assuming it is because of the identity of his enemies— Then he _was in it_. Just the pure _adrenaline rush_ of ripping out demon guts gives him is enough to keep him going forever. Or maybe it's the fact that he's some superhuman with the ability to _suck the life_ out of demons with his bare meaty hands and sheer willpower given to him by spending too much time down in the _fiery pits of hell it's fucking self!_

...Yeah, the latter is probably correct.

Doom Slayer emerged from the pile of corpses he had wracked up victorious, seeing a bright blue portal zip open. The Slayer marched through it, almost forgetting about his armor upgrade. With a snap and a crackle, the other end of the portal opened in the Doom Slayer's headquarters, cleverly dubbed " _The Fortress of Doom_ " by yours truly.

"Welcome back, Doom Slayer." Vega greeted, the room glowing blue for a moment as a welcome gesture.

His armor was covered in gashes and blood from countless battles with large and small demons alike. He was struggling but managed to sit down and remove the shitty armor off of his bulky form. Once he yanked his helmet off, he was able to speak clearly without the foggy visor ruining his speech, asking Vega why they were back at the Fortress.

"I recalled you due to the unknown entity." Vega retorted, making Doom Slayer stand up. Without the armor, it was clear he was still a very tall and muscular man, but he looked more... well, normal. The way his armor fit him made him seem strange and bulky, but now, in his grey tanktop and baggy army green trousers, his features were much more palatable.

He had matte brown hair with flecks of green and hazel littering his light blue eyes. His left brow had a scar through it, ranging from the bottom of his eyebrow to the top of his lip, along with another one ripped across his right cheek The Slayer had a chiseled chin, and to pull it all off, a 5 o'clock shadow.

Doom Slayer questioned his AI companion, claiming he could take on whatever it was, limping over to his command chair and slumping into it.

"Well, whatever that entity was, was moving fast— And right towards you after you left the area. I'm still unaware of what it is, but I can track it on the map if you'd like."

Doom Slayer nodded.

Vega made the room glow blue as a response again as The Slayer began picking up discarded pieces of his armor and taking them into the next room and shoving them into the repair slots. He then piled himself into the elevator and head to his personal quarters, lying down on his mattress.

He hasn't been resting lately since distress calls have been coming in more frequently. He feels like some kind of stupid ass superhero, going around kicking ass "for justice" or whatever...

But, now was the perfect time to sleep, considering all he had to do now was wait around for this mysterious entity to wander away from his armor long enough to go in and snatch it.

And, that's exactly what he was gonna do: just sleep and wait...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your breathing was labored as you shoved yourself back into the reconstructed safe-lab. The fingertips on your midnight black armor opened up, revealing a thin soldering iron in which you promptly shoved into a socket in the wall to power up the large concrete door and close it shut before the Cyber Mancubus chasing you could shove himself through.

One of his massive fleshy arms slammed into the closing doors, his claw caught on one of the indents on your helmet's visor, ripping a gash straight through your protective gear. You're glad it didn't catch your cheek flesh, and instead ripped right through the respiratory gas-mask system on the front of your face.

You rolled to the side and slammed your fist against the power bank to close the door the remainder of the way. You fired three plasma rounds, causing his arm flesh to sizzle and sear. The smell of burning flesh alone made you want to throw up; but then the demon on the other side of the closing door screamed as the concrete gears smashed his shoulder blades together, ripping his gilded arm clean out of the socket. You swore you almost barfed as the giant arm fell atop of you, covering you and the floor in blood.

The soldering iron popped out of the wall socket, as you shoved the charred meat slab off of you and rolled to the side. You didn't mind killing demons, I mean, you slaughtered an entire slew of them outside in the hallway. But having a giant arm fall atop of you? Not great.

They keep on coming back to this UAC building, probably here to hunt you. Staying here was virtually useless, the building's power core had been destroyed by some beefed up robo-demon, and the only thing keeping you here was the answers waiting for you on the system logs. However, with the minimal power sources in the building, you could barely even access the multiple databases or power the giant UAC machinery.

You pressed your finger against the mechanism on your helmet. It let out a hissing noise as the pressurized air seeped out of the exposed seam. You yanked off your ruined headpiece, letting your [h/l] [h/s] [h/c] hair fall and get matted in demon blood.

With your boot, you kicked the massive arm to the corner and shuffled over to the main part of the lab. You could hear faraway screams and crashes, but you couldn't tell if they were demon or human cries.

Those demons _wanted_ you, they were _hunting_ you; and you had no one else to back you up, to make sure you came back safe. And here you are, stuck in the old powerless UAC headquarter building— The worst damn place to be stuck.

You began detaching your armor from your person, setting it into its repair chamber. Yes, this was risky... _Very risky_ , because if you hook your armor up to the UAC tech, it will send out a signal to every online server about your armor— It was UAC hell expedition gear, equipped especially to ward off weather and demons, built with excellent GPS tracking devices in case you were stranded in hell. But, you needed your helmet and respirator to be repaired. 

A few button clicks later, and the armor repair slot had powered up and begun zapping away at the tattered, blood-covered metal.

The lab chair was looking so comfortable right now, so you slid over and sat down on the snow-white plastic seat. Your arms and legs were noodles, having to lug around your giant plasma rifle and clunky armor was a pain.

You spun in your chair and leant underneath the counter. There was a metal cage with a heat lamp shining down into it, and as soon as you took the mesh lid off the top, peeping could be heard within. You smiled, reaching your hands into the bucket and scooping up the little fluffball of a creature inside; a baby chick.

It was the only thing left alive in this shithole of a lab. You assumed it was here to be experimented on like a lab rat, but thankfully it hadn't been touched. A week before you managed to find this place, you had ransacked an old apartment building and snatched a duffel bag full of food, including some bread.

When you had arrived, the little chick was on the verge of starvation, it's little feathers were all wilted and it wouldn't stand up. But, after you had readjusted the heat lamp, put a slice of bread down in there, and a bottle cap full of water, her feathers were fluffed up and she was running around like a little madman. You named her Churro after a while, even though you _swore_ you wouldn't get attached.

You gave Churro a scratch on the head and another helping of sustenance as you sat her back down. As soon as you settled in to relax, the ground shook and there was more gunfire. You ducked underneath the counter, and you could just barely see a red dot on the holographic map traversing through the abandoned building.

With a gasp, you slowly climbed over to the screen and pressed a few things. Your armor was _definitely_ not repaired and wouldn't be for another 3 hours, your plasma gun only had ¼ of a charge left, too, so basically— You were buttfucked.

The wall behind the bulletproof glass you were standing by _literally exploded_. You ducked down behind a surgical table in the middle of the room, feeling your muscles ache and protest against the sudden movements.

There, behind the rubble, stood an armored man 2 times your height and his giant gun looked half the size of your torso. You couldn't tell what make or tech his green armor was made out of behind the glass, it seemed uncannily familiar, but your eyes wouldn't leave his large figure as he walked down the hallway covered in the corpses of demons you had slaughtered moments prior.

You squinted, these past 8 months on Earth you'd heard about this man, you didn't believe it, though. No one was insane enough to fight all of hell—!

Well, except you, of course, but what was beside the point.

You eyed the figure over once more, huffing... This was...

_The Doom Slayer._

Slowly, you snuck over to the corner to retrieve your gun and cocked it. You don't know if he'd attack you or not, but considering your lack of protection, you weren't going to risk it.

A robotic voice was then heard just from the other side of the glass, that was Vega, the Artificial Intelligence he had stolen from Samuel Hayden. Wait...

That meant he was UAC technology, right? And connected to UAC servers??

 _Oh shit_... you knew connecting your armor was a bad idea, The Slayer was here for it, wasn't he? Or was he here... _for you?_

"It seems... There is an unknown entity in this direction. I suggest you continue towards your main objective while I try to decipher what it is."

Your heart raced... Vega was talking about _you_ , it _just had_ to have been referring to you.

There were footsteps just on the other side of the concrete door, the robotic voice spoke again, "Don't get too cocky, this could be serious. I'm aware you are in dire need of new armor from your last mission, but maybe this one isn't worth it right now. You are wearing your _weakest_ set after all. We can always come back after the threat has been eradicated, or your stronger armor is repaired."

You squeaked as the footsteps suddenly retreated, more crashing was heard as you peeked your head over the glass, eyeing the gaping hole he had created right in the middle of the wall. Now, if demons were to return, they'd have access right to your safehouse...

Thanks, Doom man...

Doom _guy_?

Yeah, Doomguy has a better ring to it. That's what you're gonna call him.

You squinted, there was no way you could follow him with no armor, so you turned around and unhooked the latch on the ventilation system. You crawled after him, the vents were larger than normal, allowing traversing them to be a piece of cake... _Mmm_ , cake, when's the last time you had something besides canned peas and bread, huh?

Slowly, you watched as he rammed his way through countless giant demons you couldn't even dream of taking on, loud metal music blasting through his helmet the whole way through.

At one point, you heard his AI companion speak up again... Something about the parking garage?

There was _no_ damn way you were going back up to the surface, too many demons, and not enough resources. But, you could follow The Slayer until he left the facility.

You crawled after him as he ripped apart demons, it seemed...

The more he killed the more powerful he got... However that worked.

But, soon, he had made his way up to the surface and into the parking garage. You watched him through a ventilation grate, as he killed all of the demons in sight and a giant blue portal opened up. He jumped straight through the portal, and a split second later, it closed.

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	2. 02 | EMERGENCE : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get caught up with some demons, thankfully Doomguy's kinda been stalking you?? So he swoops in to your rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had no idea so many people were also thirsting for some doomguy , i got y'all tho (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

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It'd been what, a week? Waiting was no longer in The Slayer's favor.

There had been little to no distress calls, so Doom Slayer sat in his Fortress, staring angrily at the glowing red dot on the map of the abandoned UAC facility. He had blasted almost all the demons in his Ripatorium, and that's _a lot_ of demons, might I remind you.

He sat there in his spinny chair now, grumpily eyeing the dot... before it began moving away from the main room it was in. The Slayer shot up happily, but the excitement doubled when he watched the map turn red, signaling that there is an invasion taking place.

Huh, that means whatever the entity is, it's _not_ fond of any demons as it had fled almost as soon as the map had recolored.

"Your armor has been taken with the entity. I've lost track of it." There was the churning of metal as Doom Slayer's Praedor Suit was brought down from its recharging station.

He just grunted as a response. He wanted to know what this entity was guarding so assiduously, whatever it was- _it was gonna be his._ The Slayer had already suited up, Vega calibrated the portal without another word, and he stomped through.

When he emerged from the other side, he was inside a different section of the UAC laboratory, he faltered in charging through the big concrete door because of the unfamiliar surroundings. Vega noticed this and spoke up when The Slayer began checking his map.

"This is one of the UAC's Underground Research Facilities— You are currently standing in Laboratory 8, Sector 17."

The Slayer rotated his holographic map with a nod. He was standing in one of the far-off sections. There were broken glass chambers that looked like prison cells lining the walls, making him point for an explanation.

Vega came through, "Laboratory 8 specialized on testing specimens and artifacts brought back during the UAC's Argent energy harvesting operations on Mars. Sector 17 harbored dangerous demonic experiments before it's ultimate destruction when they began breaching their containment holds."

The Slayer stood still momentarily, eyeing the broken down prison cells before barreling forward, throwing the hunk of metal he called a gun over his broad shoulder.

Almost immediately, demons were flying at him with malicious intentions. He could hear vague gunfire and the familiar noises of guts exploding, making him raise an eyebrow. He did not care about that, though, what he was wondering is... Why are there more demons here? Are they guarding something??

He tore through demons as if they were nothing, sawing their arms off with the chainsaw effortlessly. He made it out of the containment blocks, and Vega spoke up again, "You're going to have to make it to the main power Hub. The Hub has several areas locked off due to power constraints. Once power has been restored, you will be able to access the entire underground facility."

The Slayer grunted, the power core was on the other side of the facility in the deepest chamber, and where he wanted to go was Sector 03: the information and weapons vault. That's where the entity and armor used to be.

The Slayer began his descent, why didn't Vega have him do this last time?

"Because we were here for an above ground threat, you got distracted by the armor station below."

Oops, did he say that out loud?

When he got to the main room, it was pitch black, unlike it was last time. He flipped on his night vision mode, and when he did, he was met with two searing eyes. The robo-demon that had shoved its skull into the glass was up and about. But... _How_? The Slayer was pretty sure it was completely dead when he was here last time.

There were guns attached to some robo suit it had on its back, and its horns were sharpened to such a point, even with a poke it'd pierce through skin. The Slayer clenched his fist, extending the blade within his suit, _hell yeah._

The two started going at it, the demon was powerful, but couldn't keep up; it'd fire one shot but Doom Slayer would already have fired two and was on his third one. The Slayer got the demon on one knee, and he rushed at it, tearing it's head clean off its shoulders with the help of his chainsaw. When he ripped it upwards, a mix of wires and tendons were pulled out along with the big skull.

He took a moment to study the mix of metal shrapnel and flesh, then walked over to the busted core and stood beneath the massive hanging motor attached to the ceiling.

"It will take one Sentinel Battery to power the machine, then from the Hub, you can control and open whatever is restricting you."

Doom Slayer sighed, Sentinel Batteries are hard to come by... But, after he gets the armor, he assumes he can come back and take it again. Vega opened a portal and he stuck his massive meaty arm through, his fist emerged with a battery and he hefted it into its slot.

"The facility is now online... Argent energy levels are rising... Reestablishing core and supplementary systems..."

The machine zapped to life, emitting an orange glow throughout the room. Soon, the lights flickered on and there was so much electricity flowing through the concrete walls the Slayer could hear the buzz through his helmet.

He walked over to a holographic HUD that appeared once the machine was fully operating, then opened up all the automatic doors in-between him and his sweet sweet secret room. He slung his massive shooter over his shoulder and began trekking through the hallways.

There were a few demons here and there, but nothing like the first few rooms he was in. Odd, he wondered why they kept on coming back to this specific place.

Finally, he rounded the last corner and entered what seemed to be some duped up superlab. It consisted of three blaring white rooms; all of them were surrounded by some of the same 2-inch thick glass the power core was protected by, but this glass seemed to be one-way. The first room had your normal average lab stuff: a few monitors and HUD systems were powered up, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the power surge or someone was using them.

The second room had empty artillery slots and a _very empty_ armor charging station, which made the Doom Slayer almost throw a fit like a baby.

And the third room had out of place medical equipment in it. Like it had been taken from other parts of the lab and brought here. He turned on his heel to leave, but out of the corner of his visor, he caught the all too familiar glow of a bright red heat lamp below a counter. Underneath, was a little black cage, but he couldn't make out anything inside.

Slowly, he approached the cage and carefully knelt, very gingerly peering around as to not disturb the creature inside— If there was one, that is. There was a little bit of rustling as his helmet accidentally covered the heat lamp, and a little chick stuck it's head out from underneath a tiny cardboard box.

The almighty demon Slayer, known for ruthlessly slaughtering thousands upon thousands of demons to righteously take back his world, _let out a little squeak_. He set his gun on the ground to poke his finger through the wiring of the cage in hopes it would peck at him, and when it playfully did he smiled behind that helmet of his. He slid the cage further out from underneath the counter and noticed a piece of masking tape with the word " _Churro_ " written on it. He hummed, thinking about churros and food... Then— _Grief struck him._

When was the last time this thing's been _fed_? He quickly opened the cage, which made Churro run over to an unseen slide of bread and perch happily atop it.

Oh... okay, recently, he's guessing.

Wait, but if it's been fed... _That means..._

Someone's been here. It makes sense, with the hoards of medical supplies, empty weapon compartments, and powered on monitors. Someone was harboring themselves here, and it couldn't be some UAC shmuck working with the demons since they ran away from the sweep.

That's probably why they keep on coming back here, they _know_ someone is living here.

_And now The Slayer knows someone is living here, too._

He stood up and began his way back towards the main power source. When he returned, he observed on the HUD that there was another wing powered on, the medical station. And, there, bright and blaring on the map was the same red dot that he'd been staring at for a week straight.

_The entity had not left the building._

He pointed to it, meaning " _Wtf Vega_?"

Vega replied, "It appears the armor has cloaking mechanisms. It's UAC hell expedition armor, designed to be invisible on my servers and radars unless hooked up or manually connected. Apologies."

 _Ew_! He'd been busting his ass for some shitty UAC armor?

"The entity has taken off the armor and has injured itself. If you want it, now is your time to acquire it."

For a moment, he considered it but then shook his head. If this entity wanted to be a threat, it most likely would have charged at him and he'd already ripped its head off. Plus, having the intelligence to stock up on medical supplies, food, charge armor, and then hideaway in one of the _safest rooms_ in the facility? Also, having enough compassion to _mother_ a baby chick??

This is _not_ a demon.

He doesn't know what it is...

_But he wants to find out._

Despite being a ruthless human tank, The Slayer was also full of curiosity and liked to inquire everything around himself. When he's not stabbing, he's usually taking in the scenery around himself or reading up about demon history— Hell, even when he _is_ stabbing he's carefully watching and studying the movements of the demons around himself as to where they're going to attack and how they're gonna do it. The big nerd even likes to _collect little toys_! How can you say there isn't a soft side to him?! He's been through so _so_ fucking much but it surprises him how much he still doesn't know.

The Slayer pointed to the red dot on the map and made a talking motion with his hands.

"I see, you'd like me to send a transmission?"

The Doom Slayer nodded once more.

"Overwriting..." The HUD became a light blue instead of a blaring orange, "Say what you'd like me to transmit..."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It seems the Doom Slayer truly was connected to UAC servers that night. You knew connecting your armor was a bad choice.

You're assuming once The Slayer's presence was made known to the demons, whoever was in charge down there repowered up that giant mech demon that had destroyed the power generator. The whole reason that had been destroyed was to ward you off anyways and flush you out of the building, but you were contempt with finding answers.

The repowered demon resulted in you taking your ¾ of the way repaired armor and making a run for it. You didn't know where you were gonna run, all you knew is that you had to be quick and silent. The vents were a no because of your suit and gun, and the main corridors were also a no because that demon was followed by fleets.

Sure, you could mow them down with your plasma rifle, but you knew that would attract the huge demon.

Although, luck is not particularly on your side. Some of the demons managed to find you, so you had to fire a few rounds, making the giant demon also make his way towards you.

One thing you hate about this UAC expedition gear was the multiple fail points it had. There were slots within the protective gear for more " _accessibility and movement_ ", but the designers didn't think anyone would get shot in the torso, _really_?

You heard his loud footsteps approaching, and before you knew it, the tip of his horn was stabbed at least half an inch deep through your torso just _perfectly right in between the fucking armor plates_. You scowled in pain, now they could smell your blood.

Without thinking, your flight or fight response kicked in, you ripped yourself from the giant protruding bone and threw yourself into a vacant laboratory. Pulling up your map HUD, you realized you were in sector 10, the experimentation ward.

You needed to get to 25, the exit out to the parking garage. There was an abandoned strip mall building not too far from here. Maybe you could camp there for the night and return here once the demons had been flushed out.

Holding onto your torso, you heard heavy footsteps cascade by you, then there was just a barely audible grunt, and the sound of rubble crashing. You aimed your gun around the corner, then peeked your head out, only to see a giant fresh hole in the wall with dust still lingering in the air.

You checked your map for a moment, seeing another red dot appear on the holographic screen. Your heart constricted... _The Slayer was back._

His icon on the map went through walls (you're assuming he's smashing them down like how he did to the wall before you). You almost chuckled at this, for not the impending doom you were waiting to face with the blood gushing out of your abdominal region. He was smashing in the opposite direction you needed to go... But...

_You were intrigued._

Carefully, you limped down the hallways, you wanted to see what he would do to the large demon. With every movement, you were ready to aim your gun— But all the demons had already had their skulls pulverized against his giant metal gauntlets, so there was no need.

You wondered if he'd do that to _you_ , too.

Suddenly you regret following him, but the churning of a chainsaw and robotic screeches made you press forward. You slid into the dark room behind a generator just in time to see the demon's head disconnected from its spine. You grimaced at the bloody wires and tendons as they were chopped in half. He stood there for a moment, holding up the skull that was bigger than his torso, just staring at it... Before discarding it like some cigarette butt he was done smoking.

The seams within his armor flashed blue for a moment as Vega spoke to him, "It will take one Sentinel Battery to power the machine, then from the Hub, you can control and open whatever is restricting you."

Woah, Doom man's gonna _repower the machine_?

You watched as a small portal ripped open; he stuck his hand through, and when he pulled his fist back out there was a bright glowing white tube in his hand. Begrudgingly, he set the battery into its holster and spun on his heel so abruptly, when you tried to hide again your helmet slammed onto the back of the metal transformer you were behind. Somehow, he didn't hear it, so you peeked your head back out. You could hear Vega speaking again as he walked to the opposite side of the room. Damn, he got a nice ass though.

' _Stop thinking like that_ ,' you scolded yourself, watching as he began fiddling with a HUD that popped up. The lights suddenly powered up, making you shield your eyes for way longer than you should have. It's been so long since you've stepped foot outside of this dark _cave_ , it hurt your eyes to be met with light.

As you opened your eyes once more, the Slayer was no longer there and marching towards...

_Fuck._

He powered up Sector 03...

You could go over to the HUD and turn off the power to that sector of the building, but then he'd know you were there. You could hear more saw noises and gunfire, what the hell were you supposed to do now?

The bleeding from your torso had now worsened after you crouched down, you needed to get to the fucking safehouse... And quick, or else you'll bleed to death. Or...

You slinked over to the HUD and clicked on 06, the medical stations. Hopefully, you hadn't ransacked all of the supplies and brought them back to your base because those would be gone by now. Actually... Come to think of it, you've never seen The Slayer apply even a _bandaid_ to himself. It truly _was_ like he could take the life right from the demons he killed.

God _damn_ , you were tired of slinking around this old building like some type of concrete labyrinth.

Slowly, you made your way to your designated location and started ripping through medical cabinets. You managed to find half a sheet of gauze, half a bottle of cleaner, dirty medical tape, and a whole roll of fresh bandages.

You pressed the armor latch just underneath your armpit and on the back of your neck, opening up the compartments needed to access your wound. Your suit was _not_ fit for a little 5'2 female body, it was made for a big burly man who's been trained in the army.

When you first found the set, your head barely peeked over the rim of the chest plate and your hands couldn't reach the fingers, so you modified it with a handbook you found underneath a welding table. Now, you had to step up into the leg compartment, and there was a mechanism within the forearm that tracked your fingers so it'd follow your movements.

It wasn't really armor, anymore. Honestly, it was more like a mech suit. It made you 1½ feet taller, so you looked like a whole 6-foot man, which was _really_ disorientating when you stepped out of it.

The chest plate cavity opened, letting out the air within with a hiss. Your legs and arms were still locked in, though making this a very odd sensation. Slowly, you poured the (kinda nasty) cleaner onto your wound. Your teeth grit together as you stuffed the gauze into the hole, and wrapped yourself up.

You relaxed into the hot inside of your metal suit but jumped right back up when the room began glowing a light blue. One of the monitors beside you booted up, and the PA system crackled to life,

"Hello, I am Vega, the sentient intelligence assigned to aid The Doom Slayer."

_He knows..._

You quickly shoved yourself back into your armor, but it didn't help since there was a large gash in the side where your wound was.

"The Slayer has requested me to send you a transmission. Respond by typing into the textbox on the monitor I have set up for you."

 _A transmission_?

You mean... he _wasn't_ going to come and tear your guts out with his teeth?

Slowly, you made your way to the computer and typed one word,

" _Okay_."

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	3. 03 | EMERGENCE : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You "meet" the Doom Slayer (he mostly just kinda stands there, after throwing a few rage fits)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this kinda a whacky chapter, lots of POV switches.

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The Doom Slayer watched precariously as the HUD before him displayed what the entity was typing up.

It'd been _so_ long since he interacted with another living being that wasn't trying to rip his head off. The only humans he's run into recently were either on the UAC Mars base, cyborgs, or zombified corpses...

He almost believed that he was the only one left on Earth...

"The Slayer means you no harm. We just wish to communicate."

The letters appearing on the screen were _excruciatingly_ slow. It made The Slayer just want to run and talk to them in person, but if the entity truly was injured, they'd probably freak out and try to fight out of fear.

> _Okay._

The Slayer slammed his fists on the table, _just okay?_

That's the only thing they'd been saying for the past five minutes. _What's wrong with them?_

Vega continued with the questions, despite Doomguy beginning to throw a fit, "Do you work for the United Aerospace Corporation?"

This response came almost immediately.

> _No._

The Slayer sighed, somewhat relieved, Vega replied with an "Excellent."

But... why would they have UAC mech? And be in this building??

> _Do you?_

Vega awaited Doomguy's response to the unexpected question, Doomguy shook his helmet no, "We work by our selves."

The next response came a bit slower,

> _Me too._

Doomguy motioned around to their surroundings, Vega understood. "Why are you bunkering in a UAC facility? Aren't there plenty of places to go besides this?"

It took almost 2 minutes for the next response,

> _Answers._

"I'm losing the signal." Vega commented, "They must have put their cloaking back up."

The Slayer sighed... Then shrugged, walking over to the big machine once again.

Vega quickly transmitted out a final, "We see you do not wish to proceed with our communication attempts. The building will now go back offline, you will lose all signal and power to the wards." as The Slayer grabbed ahold of his Sentinel battery and tugged it loose.

The concrete walls stopped buzzing, and the orange glow faded almost immediately as Vega started up a portal. Doom Slayer stepped through, scowling all the way.

"Welcome Back," Vega called as The Slayer sat down the battery, picked up the nearest item (which happened to be a whole ass chair), and threw it against the wall.

"Ah, you're upset, no doubt?"

The Slayer ripped off his helmet and sighed, rubbing his face.

Damn Slayer, giving Vega the cold shoulder huh?

Vega let out a hum in response as Doomguy began disarming himself.

He was conjuring up a plan...

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Another week had passed.

After The Slayer ended the communication with you, you knew he had left.

But you had no idea if he was ever coming back...

You felt... _Guilty_ almost. Running away like that...

You kind of craved interaction with another living being, but, you were _terrified_ of what he might do to you. You've seen how he ripped apart multiple demons at a time before, and you _really_ don't want to turn into one of those demons.

Honestly, you were trying not to think of it too much.

The day after that night, you went back out into the facility, just to scout the place and make sure no more demons or giant men hurdling guns half the size of your body were out in the hallways.

You had to manually close all the 1-ton concrete doors leading to your base that The Slayer had just so generously opened for you. But, that actually led you to a great discovery. Sector 14 was the greenhouse; it had housed experiments on various plants to see if they could survive in space/hellscapes so, guess what— You found some lettuce and tomato seeds!

It was something small, but, hey... Food is food around here.

The first day you planted them, you had begun to worry if you wasted the seeds because you weren't sure if the soil you'd found was radioactive or not. But, by the third day, little springs were popping up, making you the happiest you've been in a while.

By the end of the week, your plants were doing great, but you, on the other hand, were not. Your wound was swelling and the half sheet of gauze wasn't enough to clot the bleeding. The bandages were getting ruined within a few hours of swapping them out, and you're also pretty sure the hydrogen peroxide you poured on yourself _wasn't_ hydrogen peroxide, as now your wound was infected.

You were going to try and go back to sector 06 in hopes of finding more supplies. You walked over to your armor (that now had a crude patch of metal welded to the gaping hole in the side) and hopped up into it. As your armor swallowed you up inside, you tied your hair up and pulled on your helmet. Immediately, warmth overcame you as it powered on, making you sigh in content.

You didn't have any other clothes besides a black spandex sports bra and shorts underneath your armor when you were drafted out to fight. It was the most unfortunate you'd ever been.

And guess what! The nights were getting colder and colder, especially underground and on concrete, and you _will not_ sleep inside of your armor in fear of being suffocated or it overheating.

Yeah, your luck sucks.

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The Slayer was tired of just sitting here staring at the same damn red dot for another week straight.

He stood up from his perch at the hub to go and get some food out of the synthesizer. When Doomguy hasn't been rippin' guts out of demons, he also needs food, water, and sleep. His suit can provide him with _most_ of his energy, but not all.

Doomguy stood there, crossing his arms as the meal was prepared. He'd been a little upset lately at the lack of demon-slaying and he was honestly kinda butthurt that the other human put on its armor to sneak away.

The Slayer returned to the hub and sat back down with a plate of some sticky rice and teriyaki chicken. As he began eating with a scowl, he suddenly sat up eagerly, seeing the red dot vanish on his locator.

He shoved the food into his maw quicker than he's ever eaten before and hopped up, _finally_ he could go over with step two of his plan.

Doomguy had already executed phase one: two days ago he went out to an abandoned shopping mall near the UAC facility and found a pet store. Thankfully, there was a bag of chicken feed that was miraculously untouched by the rats or roaches.

He wanted to make sure the person was feeding that baby peep, ok? He's not going back there because he's _dying_ to have human connection, _pshh_ , he doesn't _need_ anyone else!

He's a cool _loner_ guy... _That desperately wants to interact with someone who isn't a demon or cyborg_.

Okay, _maybe_ he wanted to meet this armored individual.

He grabbed his mech and suited up. Vega noticed his sudden spark of energy, "Are you really going to go back there? It didn't want anything to do with you last time we tried offering."

With a shrug, he bent down and hauled the whole bag of chicken feed over his shoulder. Vega let out a robotic sigh and opened a portal gate as the Slayer walked through.

He checked his map, Sector 04. So that means... Just through this door would be where the safe room was, right?

Welp, only one way to find out.

_WHAM!_

The Slayer slammed his shoulder into the concrete door, making it crumble underneath the force of impact like one of those nature valley granola bars as soon as you open the wrapper.

He looked around, spotting the familiar bloodstained door that led to the lab. He ran his fingers along the single yellow stripe painted on the cold concrete. Every now and then, his armor would scrape up a spark. He marched up to the door, and before his gauntlet could strike, Vega chimed in, "Would you like me to open that for you, or are you just going to rampage yourself through?"

The Slayer chuckled, then motioned towards the door as Vega opened it up. Slowly, he snuck into the room, eyeing around to see if it was empty. When he determined it was, he walked over to Churro's cage and sat down the 30-pound bag of pellets. He noticed the buckets of wet soil with plants sticking out of them... That was new.

He brought one of his giant armored fingers up and stroked the soft velvety leaf of the plant. But, he was careful not to damage the poor little thing.

Due to the excitement of a new person, the little chick started to run around in her cage. Doomguy smiled and unhooked the cage's hinges, letting the chick hop up into his hands. His boots tapped on the floor excitedly as he brought the little bird up to his chest plate and scratched the back of its head.

There was a sudden shuffling behind him and the rumbling of a closing door. The Slayer jumped and spun around, he automatically aimed the gun upwards before he could register what he was doing. As his eyes focused, he almost gasped at the giant armored figure before him.

The person was at least 6'8 feet tall, well... That was probably because of the armor. The Slayer was 6'10 and when he put on his armor he became a whopping 7 feet tall.

Their armor was a midnight black, with darker grey spots in-between the protective plates. The helmet had a gas mask respirator on the front and a giant divot where it looked like a crack had been recently repaired. The cracks between the armor plates were glowing a deep shade of red, seemingly along with the pilots breathing or heartbeat, The Slayer couldn't tell. On the torso, just in-between the chest plate and groin was a noticeable sterling silver patch that was... leaking blood.

Ah, that's not good. Looks like they weren't successful in raiding the medical ward that one time. The Slayer noticed the all too familiar buzz of a plasma rifle powering up.

Slowly, he put his gun down on the floor, and raised the hand that wasn't holding Churro; the universal sign for, " _I'm not here to hurt you_."

The gun in their hand was shaking so much it was rattling, but Doomguy wasn't sure if they couldn't keep a steady hand because of blood loss or fear. He knelt down, the plasma gun followed his every move as he pulled out Churro's cage and set her back down.

He stood back up and took a step towards the armored figure, resulting in them taking two back. Once again The Slayer offered his hands as a peace treaty and took another step. This time, they stayed put, slightly lowering their guard.

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Seeing The Doom Slayer holding your baby chicken and cooing like a little girl was something. But then seeing him place his gun on the ground and approach you?

Are you in some weird _fever dream_ from not sleeping for three days?

You were shaking with fear— Or blood loss— You couldn't tell either. For the past few hours, your vision had been cloudy and your breathing has been ragged, you knew you had to do something about your side, but you had no success with sector 06.

You could barely even realize what The Slayer was doing as he took the gun out of your hand and sat it down on the floor as well. He stood back up, and you stared up at his face, trying to see who was behind the dark green visor. When you did, you saw two tentative and gentle looking eyes gazing back at yours.

Ah, man, you just _locked eyes_ with The Demon Slayer and he's _not_ ripping your head off in fury?

He brought two fingers up to a speaker on the side of his helmet and tapped it, then shook his head; his comm was broken.

You nodded, "I understand."

He seemed taken aback by your voice. You were almost surprised, too. Your helmet had been so fucked when the Mancubus smashed it, your voice came out distorted and scratchy like Darth Vader's.

The Slayer held his hand out, and you looked down to it. It was _fucking huge_ — Well, your cyber suit almost sized up to it. You shifted your weight to your left side and brought your right hand up to clasp with his. He heartily shook your hand, but his movements were slow and he was almost fumbling.

You just shook hands with _The_ mother fucking Doom Slayer _himself_.

He pulled away, then abruptly took a few steps back. He pointed down at your wound and gave you a thumbs up, " _Are you okay?_ "

Cautiously, you nodded your head yes. You could hear him hum under his helmet as he pointed to the chicken feed underneath the table.

You felt your heart suddenly subside, why is he being so nice? Is this some _ploy_ to rip off your head??

"Th... Thank you." You barely whispered out, but it seemed he understood.

You precariously limped around the counter— The Slayer took note of your bad shape, he'd have to come and check up on you again tomorrow... You slid down onto the floor, smearing blood against the cabinets, and scooped Churro back into your hand. When you turned back around to question him, you caught just the last flash of blue as his portal closed behind him.

"Oh..."

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	4. 04 | EMERGENCE : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doomguy finds you in an unfortunate predicament and takes you back to his fortress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first little pov blurb is really gruesome, but you're also here reading a fanfic abt doom—the goriest game in the world—so what can i say.

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You were _convulsing_.

Never would you have thought you'd die like this; alone, immobilized, and by your own mistakes.

Your chest was constricting, and with every movement you made your body shot pain up the back of your spine. You were seething, and bloody foam erupted out of your mouth every time you'd try to take a normal breath out.

You didn't even have enough strength or control over your body to reach your arm up and unlatch your helmet. You could barely move your lower half, every move stung like wildfire.

Faintly, you could remember what had happened yesterday: After The Slayer left, you didn't have the strength to get back up. Thankfully, you were able to put Churro back into her cage before you collapsed. You thought you were just tired, so you let your eyes close.

When you woke back up, you were sitting in a puddle of your coagulated blood, making you shiver and wonder how long you'd been here. You tried to move and get up, and that's when your body started spasming. You were fighting your own movements so hard that you began to pass out again. You battled with your nervous system for so long, you started sobbing at the constraints your body was putting on you. All you could remember was spitting out an, " _I d-don't... I don't w-w-wanna... d-d-die!_ " as the foam began to spew out of your lips and nose.

You could only choke out that single sentence as you cried. You felt worthless, sniveling in your own blood, unable to move. And you were brutally aware that you were on your last few minutes of being alive. Or so you'd hope, you didn't want to be sitting here for hours and hours dying... You always thought you'd go out by getting your arm ripped off and dying righteously on the battlefield or something, not this pitiful shit.

Your vision became cloudier as your breathing became labored, the sobs escaping you became quieter and quieter before you could no longer feel your fingertips anymore.

Maybe you'll end back up in hell once you die, haha...

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The Slayer stretched his muscles, wiping off his forehead. He had just finished an on-ship workout per Vega's demand since he hasn't been "Slaying enough demons" and he must stay in shape.

Doomguy hummed, he should probably go check up on the mystery person. After the condition they were in yesterday, he was kind of worried.

He suited up, and this time Vega opened a portal just outside the door. Struggling not to break it, Doomguy pried open the door. Looking around, he deciphered no one was here, which was odd. They couldn't have gone too far with that wound... The Slayer took a few steps into the room, and his boot tapped on something hard.

His eyes trailed downwards, only to meet the boot of the mystery person. They were surrounded by a puddle of blood that was seeping out between the seals in their armor.

Doomguy sat his gun down lightly and kneeled beside the person, _Shit_. He shouldn't have left yesterday when he did...

Thankfully, there was still the faint red glow resonating from the armor, which let him know they were still alive. There was no way he was gonna be able to haul their limp body inside the robo suit, it was too big and flimsy. He could lift them, of course, it'd just be awkward to hold onto.

So, there was only one option: _take them out._

His hands slid up to the back of their head as he tried to lift it upwards without injuring them any more. The Slayer could just barely see their closed eyes behind the red visor, giving him light hope that they had just passed out from blood loss.

As his fingers slipped on the latch, the helmet let out a weak hiss. He slowly tugged it off of their head, and he felt a knot in his throat at the sight before him.

It was a [s/c] female with [facial/feature] (freckles, dimples, etc,). The girl looked just around his age, probably 24, a good two years younger than him. Her face was stained with tears and her lips blue from exhaustion, making the Slayer feel immediate regret. He'd been in that position before, thinking he was about to die and just bawling his eyes out... It's only ever happened once though, and he vows it'll never happen again.

Doomguy had to snap himself out of it as your head lolled to the side. He hurriedly supported your head to keep your [h/l] [h/texture] (curly, wavy, straight, etc,) [h/c] hair from dipping itself into the blood on the floor as his fingers hurried to find the next latch in your armor.

His finger only brushed over it, but it was enough for it to trigger the button as the chest cavity sprung open. He bit his lip behind his mask, not at the sight of an almost bare female body (a pretty one, at that)— Okay _maybe a little bit_ — But because of the condition of your wound. It was hastily wrapped in soaked bandages that were not doing their job.

Slipping his hand underneath your torso, he hoisted you upwards to slip your arms out of your mech suit. After he managed to do that, he unlatched your legs. Man, you were a lot smaller and way more uh... _Female_ , then he was expecting.

With your Darth Vader voice, he was sure you were some teenage boy trying to act big and tough or something, but... He was incorrect.

He swept the room one last time, he'd come back for Churro and your suit and gun, but there wasn't anything else in here that he doesn't have at the Fortress. He slipped you into his arms and carried you bridal style.

Vega opened a portal, and once the AI noticed the female in his friend's arm he spoke up, "I see you have managed to _meet_ the mystery individual. Do you know who she is?"

The Doom Slayer shrugged, then walked over to one of the bigger doors and pushed it open. He walked over to one of the metal medical tables and propped you up onto it. He wiped the blood off of his fingers and took off his own helmet as well, he called out to Vega for assistance.

The room flashed blue in response, "If you set her in one of the medical pods, I can see what I can do and run her DNA for a match in any remaining databases."

Doomguy nodded weakly and pulled you back up as one of the pods opened up. He set you carefully inside, watching as it sealed back up and two robotic arms came down from above to start work on your torso.

He found himself unable to pry his eyes away for a moment as the gauze was ripped from the gaping hole in your side. The wound had a black burnt looking rim around it, and it was disgustingly bruised.

"I will try to determine what has caused this injury. She isn't conscious at the moment and has lost a lot of blood, I will work on stabilizing her now." An IV was hooked up to your arm as Vega went to work. The Slayer pulled himself away and turned his head back towards the still open portal, pulling on his bloodied helmet.

As he walked back into the portal, he decided to get Churro first and save all the heavy lifting for later. He bent down and picked up her cage, carefully stepping over the armor and hopping back through the portal. He sat the chick's box down on the ground, then went back in for the feed he found. After he drug the bag through the gateway, he sat it down, tore it open with brute force, and fed a handful to the little bird.

Then, he went back in to collect the bloodied armor. He had to figure out how to tear apart the suit so he could transport it.

Soon, he figured out that he could unlatch certain plates and detach them from the main body compartment. It looked like the armor had been modified, it was an amateur job, but it did the deed. It was more like a robot that she could climb up into and control.

After he ripped both the arms and legs off, he tossed them through Vega's portal and walked in after, asking for Vega once more.

"How can I be of assistance?"

The Slayer asked for the armor stations to be brought down, Vega did as commanded, 2 armor slots were brought down from the ceiling. Doomguy loaded up the UAC suit first, then took his off and hooked it up as well. With a huff of exhaustion, he walked over to the stairs to go to his quarters. He needed to go watch some old TV programs or something to get his mind off stressing about you.

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The Slayer was beginning to worry. It's been half a day, and you hadn't done so much as even shift positions. His armored fingers strummed against the countertop as he watched the suit repair work it's magic on your armor; it'd already taken apart the whole thing and finished the cleaning process, now it was busy rewiring the janky DIY cables that you'd tried to adhere to the armor. Then it would go through with the adjusting and mending.

Vega broke Doomguy's thoughts, "I have determined her ailments and partial identity."

Doom Slayer looked up from the armor and spun around to stomp down the hallway. As he walked into the room and marched up to the medical pod, Vega continued, "The serial number on her armor read as one of UAC's hell expedition suits, however, she modified it to fit her... well, smaller form. Her DNA matches up with UAC Elitist E-7_NX.0666"

An Elite Soldier? Doomguy glanced down to you, he used to rip suit tokens off Elite Soldiers, and now he's saved one. Doomguy looked up to Vega, questioning about her relations to Hayden.

"Her activity reports she's refuted against Samuel and Olivia's orders on several accounts despite being their number one commanding officer. It does not provide a first name, only keycard identity and history as the UAC does with a lot of things."

The Slayer raised a brow, questioning how you refuted Samuel, giggling at the vision of you— A tiny ass human— Yelling up to the 10-foot tall cyborg.

"She has been filed as obstructive on multiple occasions due to going against her mission orders. She was ordered to limit supplies and only give small rations to surviving bases, however, she gave what was needed. Another example is when she was told to leave civilians behind, but instead armed them and brought them with her fleets." Vega paused, then chuckled, "Also, there is an account of physical violence against Olivia Pierce. It says she attacked her one day after waking up from injuries as Olivia had sacrificed her troops."

The Slayer chuckled, too. You beat her up even while you were hurt?

Vega spoke, "Apparently, she is the only known person remaining alive besides Samuel to have been associated with the Hell Expeditions."

Doomguy looked down at you, humming. He then questioned about your condition.

"Her vitals are stable. I have stopped the bleeding and spreading of infection and poison."

The Slayer leaned down, pressing his face to the glass of the pod to glance at your figure again, asking about the origin of the poison.

"The injury was sustained from a demon affected by Earth's high radiation levels. It's horn impaled her side, infecting her with a poison that has a similar effect to nerve gas, but slower. It takes three days to properly incubate in the nervous system, during that time in which it infects the wound and makes it larger. Then it attacks the spinal cord and brain stem, causing spasms, temporary paralysis, and foaming from the mouth."

The Slayer looked down at the large patch of stitches across the right side of your torso with a grimace. What... a _horrible_ fucking way to go out.

He had to tear his gaze away from your sleeping body when the lights dimmed into a dark red for a moment, "Incoming distress call on the northern hemisphere of Earth."

Doom Slayer jogged over to the hub, but not before taking one last glance over his shoulder at the occupied medical pod, he asked Vega to get you a shirt if you woke up... Wouldn't want you to be cold. Oh! And make sure you got food in your system, too.

"Understood."

On one hand, he was fucking pumped to go out and ballista some demons with his shotgun, on the other... He was worried about this little mystery woman.

Why?

He had no idea, but... He just feels a familiar pull to her.

But... On the other hand, _demon slaughtering._

He pulled on his helmet with an evil smirk as he cocked his shotgun, _time for some stress relief._

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	5. 05 | INCIPIENCE : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Doomguy properly meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doomguy thirst is real y'all, i grinded out two chapters in a day
> 
> also i drew doomguy and churro from the scene where you walked in on him holding her and concepts for the reader's armor and (spoilers for later in the book i guess?) vega's robotic form 
> 
> idk how to link in the notes so link is there↓

[doomguy n churro doodle](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616435331558965248/ok-so-heres-some-sketches-from-scenes-in-my) by me

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You woke up in an unfamiliar place.

Almost, for a split second, you believed you had somehow thrown yourself into heaven due to the blue atmosphere. But, you soon realized what was happening.

You were stuck inside of some pod, with the beeping of machines going off in your ear. Precariously, you pulled your arms up in front of you.

 _Tubes_. There were IV's in your arm and breathing aids up your nose, there were plastic strips adhered to your chest to monitor your heart rate.

_Fuck Fuck Fuck._

You cursed, not knowing what the machines were doing to you or your body.

_You have to get out of here._

In a rush of adrenaline, you tore the tubes off of yourself and ripped the needles out of your arms. You swiveled around so you were lying on your stomach despite how much pain it was, and pressed your back against the blue glass. Then, you pushed on the bed with your feet until you heard a " _pop!_ ".

The capsule's door unhinged, and you hurriedly slopped yourself out of the side. You fell out onto the cold floor with a cry of pain. You lay on your back for a moment, clutching your stomach as you tried to control your breathing.

"Now, now. There's no need for that."

A voice?

"Are you able to stand back up?"

No, you recognized this voice.

_Vega._

You threw yourself onto your hand and knees, trying to find the strength to wobble yourself back into a balanced state.

"Very good."

You inhaled, then managed to croak out a "Wh-Where am I?"

"You are in The Slayer's hidden headquarters, also known as the Fortress of Doom. Don't ask me why he named it that, you have just as good of a guess as I do."

You looked around the room for a source of the robotic voice. What the? Is the ceiling talking to you? "Where are y-you?"

"Unfortunately at the moment I do not have a physical platform, my core is plugged into the ship's hub."

"Ship?" You questioned, blinking hard as to withhold your surroundings.

"Yes. After I meet the Slayer's requirements I will give you a tour, if you'd prefer."

"Requirements...?" You looked around, "Is— Is he _here_?"

"Negative. Besides you on the table I have laid out more clothing for you to wear, please put it on."

True to his word, on the table to your left was a folded up cloth. You limped over and took ahold of it— It was a black graphic t-shirt that had a red logo of some heavy metal band on it, and underneath were two socks. When you pulled on the t-shirt, it went down to your mid-thigh, kinda making it look like you had no pants on, it smelt of cologne and lightly of pine, kinda relaxing you. The socks were supposed to be short, but they were so big when you pulled them up they went over your ankles.

"Apologies on The Slayer's behalf, he doesn't have any you-sized pants."

"It's okay..." You nodded, but then shook to your core, "Wait a _damn_ minute," You grabbed the front of the shirt and tugged it forward, "These are his clothes?!"

"Affirmative. Please follow the glowing path, you are severely dehydrated and malnourished; I'd like to see if you can hold down food."

Without skipping a beat, the floor lit up and directed you over to a vault-like door. Hesitantly, you followed the trail, as it led you out to some larger control room area, then to another door in the center of the room. When the door opened, it revealed a large table and chairs, over to the side was a kitchen and some gadgets you didn't recognize, looked like human and Argenta tech.

One of the chairs began glowing, and you, now a little more skeptically, tiptoed over to sit down. The black metal was cold against your thighs, making you let out a shiver, but it was immediately taken away when a warm plate of food was sat in front of you by an unseen robotic arm.

Your eyes widened, it was... Like... _Actual_ food.

Rice, broccoli, and some chicken.

Fuck, it was bland— But fuck, it was _food!_

You'd not eaten a real meal in so long you'd almost forgotten what anything besides the nasty flavor of vinegary pickled items and stale canned goods tasted like.

A fork was handed to you by the robot arm, and you hesitated to eat, fearing that you were going to be tricked and that it wasn't real. Maybe you _did_ die and wake up in heaven.

Ever so slowly, you pressed the prongs of the fork into the meat of the chicken and brought it up to your lips, squinting at it to see if there was anything off about it.

"Is something wrong?" Vega questioned, "Nothing within the food is altered if you are assuming that is the case."

You bit the corner off of the cube of chicken, realizing that holy shit, this is real.

You didn't even realize you were crying of happiness until you sobbed and it stung the wound in your side.

"It's alright." You felt chilling robotic fingertips press into your scalp as the robotic arm pat the top of your head comfortingly, "The Slayer had a similar reaction to his first real meal as well. It's perfectly normal for humans to emote in this manner. "

You didn't pay much attention to what the AI was saying, you just wanted to eat. It took you a good 25 minutes to eat, well most of the time you were trying to control your sobs of happiness. You ate slowly to savor the food even though Vega repeatedly said you didn't need to try and save it, as the ship had all the food you'd ever need.

He also explained to you how you got here, The Slayer had found you passed out and ripped you out of your suit to save you. Then he brought you here to make sure you were okay.

But, he doesn't even know you? You're just some random ass civilian. Why would he try and watch after you?

You suddenly felt as if you had looked at him wrong. Vega had questioned, "Do you see we mean no harm now?" and you nodded your head with a sniffle.

"Are you finished eating?" He questioned as you cleaned your plate. You thanked him as the robot arm disposed of the dish into the kitchen sink, "Would you like a tour now?"

You stood from the chair and seethed at the pain in your side, but followed the blue lights anyways. "This is the hub. It's where most of the missions are called in and where I can calibrate portals for The Slayer to get wherever he needs to be."

You gasped, looking out the giant window in front of you and out into the stars.

It was... Surreal. 

The last time you'd been outside was... You don't even remember. You don't know how long you'd been bunkering in that URF, how long it's been since you saw the sky, or since you've breathed fresh air.

"And this way is down to the living space," Vega called, drawing your attention to a glowing set of stairs. You walked over and squeaked when the pain seared through your side as you walked down them, then almost slipped on accident. You slid down the last few steps and heard a familiar chirp. With a skip to your step (well, limp) you slid over to Churro's cage by a rather comfy looking couch and knelt down.

He brought Churro!

You cooed happily and brought the little baby up to your face, rubbing her fluffy pin feathers into your cheek. You sat her on the ground in between your legs and let her run around a little bit.

"Ah, it seems you're occupied. Well, through that door is a hallway which leads to a few spare bunkers and The Slayer's personal quarters."

You nodded, then heard a few clanks and bumps above your head, making you and your chick flinch lightly. Vega's voice sounded over the intercom just above you, yet you could still hear, making your blood run cold, "Welcome home, Slayer."

Upstairs, Doomguy laughed, he had a dazed look in his eyes; _damn_ , he needed that.

He turned around towards the hallway leading to the medical ward and began making his way over, before Vega stopped him, "There's no need to check. Our guest has woken up."

His shoulders shook as he jolted to a halt, spinning back on his heel and looking around the room.

"She's downstairs with the little bird. And, yes, she ate."

The Slayer nodded. Should... Should he go downstairs?

It'd, it'd be _weird_ if he didn't, right?

But wouldn't it be _even weirder_ if he did?!

God, interactions with others were not his strong suit.

Well... He supposes he has to go down there sometime tonight.

Downstairs you were mentally panicking. You could hear snippets of what Vega was saying, but not the Doom Slayer, does he even talk?

Your thoughts were ripped from your brain as you heard the heavy clunks of footsteps. You decided to focus on Churro flapping her little wings around instead of the staircase in hopes she'd calm your nerves down.

As much as Doomguy wanted to take off his armor and see you clearly without the stupid visor in his way, he wasn't sure if he should reveal his identity just yet. God, he sounded like one of those stupid ass superheros again...

Well, it's just— He doesn't know your whole story or identity yet... And if you were still siding with Samuel he doesn't want to reveal himself just quite yet.

But, he guesses that's not too fair because you don't know his identity, either, and yet he ripped you clean out of your armor the first chance he got.

As he descended down the last few steps, it was the most nervous the two of you had been for quite some time now. He took the first few steps out into the room to see your back facing him, but little did he know you were just trying to play dumb and nonchalant as if your stomach wasn't cramping up in anticipation.

You could hear every fucking move he made behind you. And you could feel his presence heavy in the air. As you slowly craned your neck behind you to look up at him, he took a few more steps forward.

Your eyes met his green— Well, right now it was a dark maroon with demon blood splattered on it— Armor. His metal boots were the size of your fucking head, and being this close up to them you realized that they had spikes like soccer cleats.

Doomguy's eyes stared at your face as you slowly trailed up his armored body and locked eyes with his visor. You struggled to stand up and set the chick back into its cage, but you managed to despite your body aching for you not to interact.

There the two of you stood, about 15 feet apart.

Neither of you made a move until his giant gauntlet rose up and shyly waved at you.

You felt a smile creep onto your face as you waved back.

Is this guy just like a big dopey puppy?— A big... _blood-covered_... dopey puppy?

The two of you inched closer and closer together until you could see his eyes behind his visor again. It was kind of difficult since he was so huge with his armor on (you're assuming he's not this height with his armor off?) They were carefully studying you with sort of a careful gloss to them.

He pointed to your side, then meekly raised a thumbs up, " _Are you okay?_ "

Slowly, you nodded and found your voice, "Y-Yeah... I... I'm ok."

He smiled at that, you could see the corners of his eyes wrinkle as he grinned.

Doomguy thought your voice was much better fitting than the one your suit provided you with. Ever since he tugged you out of it, he couldn't stop thinking about what you'd sound like when you woke up, he kept on imagining your actual voice to be like the scratchy Darth Vader one, and for some reason, it kind of scared him.

He held a hand out, " _I'm glad._ "

You glanced down at it, then took a little step forward to reach it. Your hand didn't come near covering his palm, it was two, if not three times the size of yours, and you could just barely wrap your hand around his huge pointer finger.

The bulking muscles out of his suit looked just about as thick as your thigh, his olive skin was littered with small scars, some were new and deep while others looked old and faded.

His shoulders were so broad, you assumed at least three people could easily fit into his arms. The way his suit hugged his body, it was apparent that it was specifically adhered to him. You suddenly registered how small and helpless you were at the moment. He could snap your arm in the blink of an eye if he wished.

But... you had a feeling he wouldn't.

Doomguy shook your hand ever so carefully, he didn't want to break it, you were so tiny! And seeing you stand in his giant t-shirt was just absolutely comical to him. He wanted to burst out laughing but remained silent in fear he'd scare you off.

"Uh— I..." You looked down to the floor as he released your hand, "Thank... Thank you." You whispered.

He suddenly took another step forward and placed his hand on your shoulder, kneeling slightly to get a closer look at you, then gave your shoulder a light squeeze, " _It's no problem_."

Your breath escaped you as he pulled away, you looked down to your hand and saw crimson red blood, making you gasp lightly. It was from his suit.

Doomguy looked down to it too and then suddenly retracted his hand away from you, looking at his blood-covered gauntlet. He held up his pointer finger, then in a blink, he dashed away.

The banging of his guns against his mech echoed through the hallway as he ran away, leaving you there utterly confused. But, then he suddenly was back, holding a little white paper towel. He squat down to your height, making you once again realize how packed this guy was, being able to pop a squat with mech armor on, and held open his hands.

You gave him your hand back as he tried to wipe the blood on your palm off, embarrassed. God, what a sweet dork, you could feel yourself grinning like an idiot, and when you looked back up at his face, you could see him smiling back at you.

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	6. 06 | INCIPIENCE : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doomguy comforts you while you cry like a baby  
> also some horndoggery fuel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOMEONE MADE ME FANART I SCREAMED 
> 
> if any of y'all want to send in fanart i will gladly feature it and  
> 1) scream  
> 2) love it forever
> 
> also some daddy doomguy in this chap I cannot believe I just typed those words out but it's true

[flynn being a himbo](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616493158018285568/my-friend-didnt-understand-how-the-reader-could) by me

[reader in her armor](https://dopehorsesposts.tumblr.com/post/616491875725148160/gift-for-1-800-satanic-because-oh-my-god-her) by dopehorsesposts

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Vega had said something about there being another room down the hall, but it wasn't ready yet, or so you guessed. The Slayer was currently carrying a giant bundle of blankets and leading you back down into the 2nd floor.

He abruptly stopped, and due to his broad armored shoulders and the blanket pile, you almost bumped into him. He looked over his shoulder to you and motioned you in front of himself. As you walked to his front side, you recognized the living room type space you were in earlier with a tv, couch, and everything.

His pointer finger aimed at the couch, so you sat down and got all the air knocked out of you when he threw the bundle of blankets atop your head. You emerged back out of the mountain with a huff, then glared up to see him giggling like a kid.

Doomguy tucked both of his hands underneath his head, then pointed to the couch with a shrug, " _You ok to sleep here?_ "

You nodded, "Y-Yeah, this is good."

He pat your head like you were some tiny lil puppy and gave you a thumbs up. He turned to walk away, but you piped up, catching his attention again, "U-Uhm—"

Doomguy looked back towards you with a distraught look in his eyes.

"I just—" You looked up to his visor and found yourself unable to remain looking at the sliver of his face you could see, "It's... _Thank you._ " You felt his gaze soften, "I... I never... You never had to do this for me, b-but you did a-an..."

Why are you stuttering, you cursed yourself.

"I couldn't, be more grateful."

You felt a lump in your throat, nonono _don't_ cry, _please_ don't cry in front of him.

The cold feeling of his knuckles brushing against your cheek in a way of saying " _Don't mention it_ " made you try and hold in a sob, guess you were still overwhelmed from the recent events.

"I'm detecting signs of psychological stress and a decrease of serotonin levels in our guest's body." Damn Vega, having to rat you out like that.

He suddenly realized the wateriness in your eyes and squat down closer to you, keeping his knuckle on your face because you latched onto his finger. He brought his other gauntlet and held onto your shoulder, and once you caught a glimpse of his concerned and benevolent eyes behind the mask, the tears were out.

You buried your face into the palm of you savior's hand and cried. He tried to hold your shoulders steady as you clutched onto your stomach, the pain from trying to breathe, and the sudden jolts as you sobbed hurt your wound, making Doomguy even more worried.

He slid the hand on your shoulder down to hold onto the outside of your thigh. The metal was cold against you, but at the moment you didn't care at all. You just wanted to be held.

Slowly, he slid his hand away from your face and down to your other shoulder as you wiped the tears away. He gave you a hearty shake, " _Tell me what's wrong?_ "

"I— I just... I thought... I w-was gonna d-die and—" You hiccuped and buried your face into your hands.

"Stress, anxiety, or lack of proper nutrition are all causes of emotional swings... Trauma may be the number one factor in this case," Vega explained. Solemnly, Doomguy removed himself from you as the sliding and clicking of metal echoed in the room.

You had thought he got up and walked away, leaving you to wallow in your own pity— But what you didn't expect was the feeling of warm fingertips to brush against your bare skin.

You gasped and flung your head up, Doomguy's gauntlets were set beside his knees on the ground and his hands were right back on your knees where they were a moment ago.

Fuck, how Doomguy craved to run his fingertips over your smooth skin ever since he saw you. And now, here the moment was, and it was surreal.

Your teary [e/c] eyes gleamed up at him as he held up one of his hands for you to hold.

It was like time stopped.

As he offered his large hand, your fingertips suddenly felt numb and your stomach lurched forward as you found your arm raising on its own accord.

Finally, the first fucking skin on skin contact he'd had with anyone in years.

Your tiny little fingertips brushed against the center of his palm, and as soon as it did, the two of you could feel the zap of reality come crashing back down onto you both.

Your fingers lingered as they brushed against the calloused skin on the center of his hand, before they slid in-between his. The two of you held the clasp for way more than either of you intended on doing. But, did you care? No, of course not.

Both of you were perfectly content on staying like this the whole night if need be as he ran his thumb over your knuckles, " _You're gonna be just fine._ "

His other hand came up to cup your cheek and run his thumb along the flush of your face, wiping away any of the tears that dared to escape.

The heat your face exerting was something the Slayer didn't know he missed; warmth. The only warmth he's felt in so long had been artificial, whether it be the backfire from his pistol, heat from the flames of hell, or overheating AI parts. He hasn't felt true warmth from a person in what seemed like eons.

You brought your other hand up to hold Doomguy's from behind and nuzzled your face deeper into the palm of his hand. He watched you scramble to get as much contact as possible, even though his hands were probably sweaty from being inside those metal gauntlets, you just seemed to eat up all the affection he was giving you.

That made The Slayer rather happy, you trusted him.

You could have sworn he opened his mouth to say something under his helmet but was cut off when Vega's voice called down upon you two, "Serotonin levels have significantly risen in you both."

Awkwardly, The Slayer took his hands off of you, fumbling around on himself. There wasn't a reason he needed to try and comfort you now, he guessed and trying to stay here and hold you would probably be weird.

You abruptly chuckled with teary eyes and puffy cheeks, Doomguy smiled at your resurfacing happy attitude and brought his other hand back up to run it through your smooth hair and give you another pat.

And with that surreal exchange, he stood back up and picked up both of his gauntlets, heading towards the door. He glanced back at you one last time with a little wave, wiggling his scared up fingers childishly and heading through the door.

"Are you feeling any better? Do you require any more emotional assistance?"

You shook your head, "No, I'm fine... Thank you, Vega..."

"Ah, that's a relief."

You tangled yourself up in the blankets and laid down on the soft cushions, letting out a grunt of ecstasy— It's been a while since you laid down to sleep, especially with this comfortable setup.

"Are you going to sleep? I highly recommend doing so, your injury will heal quicker."

With a yawn, you nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to try." You called out, staring at the glowing blue ceiling, "G'night Vega... Or, however that works in space."

"It is neither nighttime nor day. We don't follow the structural rules of Earth's orbit around the sun since we are not Earth and we are not orbiting around the sun. But, since your body clock is still adjusted to Earth time, yes, it'd be good night to you."

"Oh, okay..." You were already half asleep and did _not_ catch anything he just said, but you nodded as you did anyways and let out a slur of garbled words, "That sounds good."

You could have sworn you heard Vega letting out a robotic chuckle, "Sleep well."

With one last hum, you absentmindedly placed your hand against your cheek where Doomguy's larger one had been just moments ago. Vega flicked off the lights, allowing the stars to be fully viewable from the giant window in front of you.

With the pleasant sight of the stars and the even more pleasant thought of your armored savior, you drifted to sleep.

Doomguy tore off his armor and threw his helmet across his room, then jumped into bed like some giddy little 4th grader who just got a Valentine's from their crush.

Vega's icon appeared on his computer screen, "Well, aren't you happy?" His tone of voice was dramatically shifted from the proper one he uses with you, instead, he sounded more laid back and sarcastic.

Doomguy looked up, running a hand through his matted hair, beginning to gush about how small you were. He held his hands up and compared where your palm rested on his own, then chuckled.

"Why was she upset exactly?"

The Slayer recalled what you had revealed, making his face suddenly return to his normal stern gaze. It brought many memories into his head about when he was drafted out to war and was afraid to sleep every night thinking he was gonna die alone.

"Ah... Understood. Human emotions are complex."

Doom Slayer shrugged, clasping his hand together besides him on his pillow. It didn't feel the same as your tiny and soft hand did, but it'd have to do for now.

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You woke up a little while later to the scuffing of metal sliding around. Peeking open your eyes, you groaned as the light from the hallway seared into your irises.

You hissed like a little vampire and tried to roll over, but the sound of water starting up in a shower make you jump. Woah, this ship has running water? How does that even work??

As you shuffled around and rolled over, you couldn't fall back asleep, and soon enough, the water had stopped and you heard the scraping of one of the doors opening again.

Out of curiosity, you peeked your head out of the blankets to see one _hot hunk_ of a man standing in the hallway with his back turned to you. He only had a towel wrapped around his lower half and his brown almost golden hair was stuck to his wet skin. He had a few scars here and there, and some crazy ones down his back, but I mean, so did you.

You must have squeaked or something because he turned around a little bit and tried to squint into the darkness of the room. Unfortunately, due to the angle of the light in the hallway, you could only make out his silhouette and not see the details of his chest and face except what looked to be like a shimmering dog tag necklace around his neck.

You were hoping and _praying_ to whatever higher power was above that he couldn't see your wide eyes over the edge of the blanket. For some reason, you couldn't seem to shut them either; drinking up as much as his form as you could to quench your unholy thirst before walked back into his room.

Oh _no no no_ he's attractive _as fuck_ — You whined, burying your face into the blanket.

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After that, you don't remember sleeping. But somehow you were woken up by one of Vega's many arms. You slipped out from underneath the covers and stretched, showing off a little bit of your stomach since your shirt rolled up during the night.

"Greetings, its currently 8:35 AM Earth time. Isn't that around the hour you tend to eat?" Vega questioned, rolling down your shirt for you.

"Uhh, I mean, I don't really eat—" You rubbed the back of your head, the meal you had last night could get you through at least till the end of today. Usually, you'd only have one meal a day, and when you're rationing sometimes you'd go two or three days on one meal.

"Ha, ha." Vega poked your back as you stood, "Unfortunately I cannot allow that. The Slayer has tasked me with keeping an eye on you during your healing process, and that means eating. You need nutrition."

"Yeah but—" You tried protesting, but he shushed you.

"Isn't breakfast fabled to be the most important meal of the day?"

You huffed and rubbed the back of your head.

"Excellent, The Slayer is awaiting your presence upstairs... It seems he requires your assistance." The staircase and ceiling began glowing that familiar blue color.

With a little hesitance in your step, you walked over and gripped onto the railing as you made your way up.

As you stepped up the last stairs, you were greeted by a sight to behold. The Slayer, fully geared up and as intimidating as could be, running around trying to scoop Churro back up into his hands.

Without thinking, you snorted and the chick ran directly at you, making your laughing cease as you suddenly dived down to also grab ahold of the tiny fluffball. Your fingers clasped around her but she managed to somehow slip out of your hold. She ran right back towards Doomguy as he tried to grab ahold of her as well, but he couldn't seem to grip onto her either.

You couldn't stop yourself from laughing as the chick started to run in circles around the two of you, you elbowed The Slayer's bicep protruding out of his armor, making him look down to you sheepishly, "Here, watch this." You held up a finger and tiptoed over to Churro's cage, scooping a handful of feed up into your fingers and pouring them into the bottom so it'd make a clattering noise as the pellets hit the plastic bottom.

Doomguy watched as the chick stopped dead in her tracks and made a beeline for the food, he smiled and chuckled, watching you rub off the crumbs on your legs, "Is this what you needed my help with?"

He rubbed the back of his head with a nod, then made a pinching motion with his fingers, " _Too small to catch_."

You chuckled as Vega cleared his throat somehow? "Now that that's settled, please come eat breakfast."

With an "Oh yeah." You head towards where you think you remembered the dining room to be. Doomguy watched as you scampered off with a stupid smile on his face, then decided to follow in after you.

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	7. 07 | INCIPIENCE : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bro why you got the hots for doomguy calm down
> 
> (( ok but he do have the hots for you tho ))
> 
> oh yeah also marauder is finally being introduced

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT DOOMGUY HOT

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You were in the middle of eating when the room flashed crimson, Doomguy was just sitting across the table from you, hands underneath his chin, watching you sip your coffee, "Invasion taking place in the southern hemisphere."

"Wh-What does that mean?" You questioned.

Doomguy stood up from the seat in front of you and walked out into the hub. You got up to follow him, but when he heard the door open a second time he turned around to take a hold of your shoulders, " _Stay here_."

"W-Wait- I... I wanna come with you, I can help. I know how to fight." You took another step forward, and he shook his helmet, pointed to your torso, then gave a thumbs down, " _You're hurt_."

"S-So?" You pressed, "I've been hurt before, I can handle myself."

He shook his head again, then cupped your face in his giant gauntlets and squished your cheeks, making you blush. He took a step back and held up his pointer finger. This time, you didn't understand what he was trying to get at.

"I don't—" You began but he saluted you as Vega opened a portal. He picked up his shotgun and hopped through the portal without another word.

You stood there for a minute, before pouting. Vega ushered you back to the dining room to continue your meal, but you weren't hungry, only salty.

"Oh don't be like that." The AI called, "You haven't even been recovering for one week."

"Is that what he was trying to tell me?" You questioned.

"Yes. He said that he didn't want to let you back out on the battlefield or in your armor until your stitches have healed, and that takes one week."

"I don't need to be watched like a kid..." You whined, gee, you sure sounded like a kid though.

"According to my records, you cannot be trusted with taking care of yourself."

"Hey!" You puffed your cheeks out, "Whassat supposed to mean?"

"Well, you admitted to me that you don't give yourself proper sustenance, and The Slayer found you collapsed."

You looked down to your feet which were swallowed up by said human's huge socks, "Oh... yeah..."

Speaking of The Slayer, with a swing of his blade, a demon's head landed beside his boots. He cracked his neck, these invasions have been getting more and more ruthless lately, wonder why. As he massacred his way through the crowd, his arm was caught when he brought his fist up to swing.

He twisted his head around, only to have a set of knuckles sock him straight in the visor. The Slayer swung around, locking eyes with the eerie red irises of a demon he despises...

"The Slayer..." The mask on the demon's face distorted his voice, making it deep and rugged.

The two began circling each other Doomguy had seen demons like him before; Marauders— But he'd never seen one with the gold-rimmed, soot-black armor. This Marauder had one of his bottom horns twisted and broken off, replaced by a pure gold cast, and the other three had dark burning red tips. The Marauder had a deep red flowing cape behind him, ripped and tattered, along with a red piece of cloth in between legs. There were golden chains strewn about his person, and his pale skin had Argentian tattoos etched into the flesh.

This isn't a normal Marauder, is it? Based off the markings, it seemed to have a higher rank then the others.

Doom Slayer squinted, why would they be sending out their superior forces for just a minuscule invasion? Unless... This wasn't minuscule.

He called out to Vega within his helmet, asking for any information as to why the marauder would be present.

"Understood." Vega chimed back, presumably going to work.

The Marauder stopped circling, staring him dead in the eyes, "You're going to fall, one day, you know." He called out, trash talk, great, "You never were going to surpass us. One of you versus _my_ whole army? _Pathetic_."

Seeing the halt in his opponent's step, The Slayer dashed forward and extended his blade, however, the Marauder caught it. His grip was strong... Real strong.

The Slayer removed himself from the Marauder's grip and fired a quick shot out. The demon's shield was up almost immediately, bouncing the bullet away.

It was evident that the two were trained in the same way, both of their attack and defense methods were strikingly similar, almost down to a T.

"You don't _deserve_ to wear that rune on your helmet." The Demon snarled, swinging his axe abruptly.

Doom Slayer stopped, that caught him off guard, allowing for the Marauder to suddenly dash at him and get a good hit at his legs. The Slayer immediately fought back, and the two started to set their guns blazing.

The Marauder stopped, staring down at the armored man, " _Sur_... _xav_... _t'xar_..." He barked behind his shield, Doom Slayer growled, he just wanted to get this over with.

Vega's voice suddenly chipped up within his helmet, "As you're already aware, Marauder's are the number one resistance army within hell. According to the symbols engraved in this Marauder's weaponry and special armor, he is the second in command to the Khan Maykr herself."

 _Shit_... 

Doomguy cursed, this attack is for a reason, then...

Without another word, the Marauder charged at The Slayer while he was distracted and knocked him down again. Bastard, using cheap shots. Doom Slayer was surprised, though, never had he been struck down by a Marauder before.

When he rolled to the side to get to his feet, he saw a red portal opening as the Marauder backed into it, dragging a finger against his neck, "I don't have time for you."

What a fucking coward, running away.

As soon as the Marauder disappeared, a different, larger demon crashed in through the portal. It was a bigger demon than he'd ever seen before, standing taller than him, with horns sharper than his blade, and robotic arms thicker than his legs. It looked as if... It had a buff totem sticking out of its chest as well.

" _Damn it._ " The Slayer growled to himself as the buffed demon, without warning, charged at him full on.

Its long arms were able to catch him and hold him in place as it tried to maul him, getting his whole head into its mouth before Doom Slayer charged up his plasma rifle, shooting it right in the neck. It stumbled back a few steps, it's head was only hanging on by a few tendons, but it persisted.

With another attack, the Slayer actually got hurt. One of its horns gashed through his leg armor and the other through his chest plate. But, with one final shot to the stomach, it careened downwards and fell onto its stomach.

His suit absorbed the energy from the demon, but with parts of it damaged, it didn't do a very good job healing him. The Slayer was huffing and puffing, without health, there was no way he could follow after that Marauder and beat him until he spills his guts- literally and figuratively, that is.

Fuck, he had to go back to the Fortress.

He slammed his fingers into one of the buttons within a compartment on his gauntlet after checking the map to make sure it was all green. Vega responded almost immediately and opened a portal for him to stagger through.

He can't let you see him like this.

It looks like that's already too late, though. You were sitting on the opposite side of the room, hand pressed against the glass window looking out into the stars, but now your eyes were fixated on his towering and injured form.

"Are... are you hurt?" You questioned, suddenly standing and walking up to him.

He shook his head no and held up his hands, telling you to stay calm, but that only allowed you a better view of the gash in his chest plate.

"H-Holy fucking shit!" You cried, surprising him. You're so tiny he'd never really expect such colorful language coming from you.

"Let me help you?" You pressed, taking ahold of his hands.

He shook his head no again, taking a step back as you took one forward. However, that failed miserably when he put too much pressure on his injured leg, making him stumble.

"P-Please? I— to repay you?"

Doomguy thought for a moment and ultimately sighed, allowing himself to sink into his suit more.

"Oh? So he's not being a cranky baby?" Vega questioned, making you turn up towards the ceiling, "Vega! What am I supposed to do?"

Vega guided you two into the medical facility, you remembered, this is the room you woke up in. He demanded Doomguy take off his armor, which he was very much trying to avoid. That kinda made you wonder why he wouldn't show you who he was, did he not trust you...?

You had your back turned, grabbing antiseptic and bandages underneath the counter when you heard metal banging against the ground. For some damn reason all your muscles tensed, you couldn't manage to turn back around, and when you finally did, you refused to look up away from the floor.

As your eyes trailed upwards excruciatingly slow, you saw The Slayer standing with his back facing you, helmet and upper wear was discarded, and he was working on unlatching his boots to take off his leg armor.

He was fucking ripped man, like full-on hot soldier dude type of ripped.

Your knees were wobbling— Why are they wobbling.

His golden-brown hair looked fuckin' fluffy, god how you wanted to reach up and scruff it up. His olive skin was littered with scars, old and new alike.

As he finished taking off his armor, he turned to face you, looking down at you like nothing was wrong and you weren't just staring directly at his body as he undressed.

Shit, even his face was hot?!

His cheekbones and chin were broad and defined. You could clearly see his eyes now, which were a dark blue with flecks of green scattered about. His brows were thick and crinkled together in a scowl, but his left eyebrow had a scar running through it and down to his cheek.

You cleared your throat as he sat down on the medical table, you sat all the supplies next to him as he ripped off his grey t-shirt. Leaving you to just boggle at his chest.

"S-So—" Your voice erupted out of you before you could stop it, "How... How'd this happen?"

His squinted eyes gazed down at you as you grabbed a cotton ball and poured some cleaner onto it, "Mmh," He just grunted.

Can... Can he not talk?

Your fingers fumbled as you brought the cotton ball up to the wound on his chest, thankfully it wasn't deep, but you don't know about the one on his leg. You pressed it to his pecs and he inhaled sharply. You pulled back for a minute so he could adhere to the sting, then pressed it back.

As you started to patch him up, he suddenly spoke up, "You don't have'ta." His voice was deep and gravelly, you don't understand how the ruggedness didn't scratch up his throat...

And honestly... It kind of...

Totally... Added to the attractiveness.

You barely registered what he had said, "What?"

"You don't have to repay me." He locked eyes with you suddenly, making your muscles tense up. You opened your mouth, but he cut you off, "I helped you 'cuz I wanted to."

You felt a sheepish smile creep up onto your face, "Heheh, well, now I know the face— And voice— To my savior."

What you weren't prepared for was the smug look on his face as he leant back on his hands, while you moved on to his leg, "What'dya think 'bout your _savior?_ " He mocked the nickname, making your face flush more.

With a roll of your eyes and denied blush, you scoffed, "I think he's a big dork."

"Hey, well... Y'know." He shrugged, his eyes haven't left your face once during the whole exchange, and you could feel his intense gaze on you the whole time.

"And you said you _didn't_ need me out there?" You teased up to him, man, it felt good to have a conversation. You had no idea how much you were missing it up until this point.

He laughed, and you looked up as he did so to see his smile, "Then we'd both be hurt."

"We both already are hurt!" You commented, making him suddenly rethink his statement.

With that, you finished. As he stood up, you still realized how small you were compared to him, even with his armor off; you only reached to his bicep... His... _Huge_... Bicep.

He put on his t-shirt and dog tag necklace, as you put away the supplies and threw out the bloodied bandages, his hand was atop your head again, ruffling up your hair. He slid his hand down to your cheek and nudged it with his knuckles again, "You hungry?"

"Uh, I gue—"

"Yeah, yah are, c'mon." He pulled you flush against his side and under his arm, pulling you along with him.

Faintly, you almost swore you saw a familiar emblem on his chain.

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It's been a few days since you've seen Doomguy on without his suit.

He seems to be the strong silent type but occasionally would spur up a conversation with you. Usually, he likes to always have a hand on your shoulder or knee when the two of you talk, and honestly, you didn't mind it, it was comforting. You noticed he was always oddly cold against you, but maybe that's because you were always flushed at the casual contact he demanded on keeping.

You caught a few things about him here and there, like how he used to have a rabbit named Daisy, and he fucking hates Samuel Hayden. He'd been opening up to you, and you think that's a good step forward. If you're gonna be stuck in a trashed Earth and battling demons you'd _at least_ like to know a _little_ about the guy you're gonna be bunkering with.

And he wanted to know more about you, too. Vega said all the files with somewhat tracing to you were heavily encrypted, and he couldn't stay on the UAC servers for too long due to Samuel apparently tracking them. He's been completely sidetracked on finding the next Hell Priest, too, every time he sits down to concentrate you somehow nudge your way back into his mind.

Okay, but seriously; on the low, you were trying to see him shirtless again— Not because you have the hots for him or anything, cue nervous laughter— It's because he always has his dog tag tucked underneath the shirt he's wearing, and you wanted a closer look at what it had to say.

Today, he had said he was going to go workout or something and disappeared. When he returned, he was only wearing a black tank top and camo joggers with the tag dangling teasingly just below the rim of his low cut collar.

He walked over to you, wiping away some sweat with a smile, "Come wit' me."

You nodded and stood up from the puzzle you and Vega's robot arm were working on together. I mean— You're trapped in a spaceship, what else are you gonna do?

Doomguy led you back over to the medical room and pat the table. You could barely hop up onto it without struggling, making him try and stifle a laugh, "Never would have thought someone as small as you would come out that UAC armor."

You huffed, "Yeah, whatever, you're like a foot shorter than your armor, too." You noticed most of his conversations consisted of teasing you, which made you always feel like some little kid around him.

In actuality, he thought it was just plain fun to mess with you, so why wouldn't he? "Yeah, and you're like 4 feet shorter than yours." You opened your mouth to say something but stopped when he leant down over you on the table, "Take yer shirt off."

The teasing look was wiped off his face, and the audible click of your teeth smacking together when you shut your jaw made you began to sweat.

Wow uh... Moving fast, are we?

Doomguy began to sweat at the surprised look on your face. He probably should have worded that better—

You pulled off the oversized shirt under his gaze, and as soon as you had it over your head, his fingers brushed against your sides.

With a sharp inhale, you looked down to his scarred up arms holding you in place as he knelt to be level with your thighs.

You felt yourself suddenly grip the table harder as he kept eye contact with you, then, he moved one of his hands from your hip and...

Reached underneath the table as he stood back up with medical wash.

You released a huff of air you didn't know was trapped in your chest.

Hey! You barely know this guy, okay? He seemed to be sweet and caring, but you know damn well people's attitudes can change in the blink of an eye, think of Samuel Hayden's bitch ass. And with you just recently starting to get to know him, maybe he was the type of guy to try and get into things fast!

You don't know, though— that's the problem!

He stood back up and locked eyes with you, "I gotta take out your stitches, been a week."

Damn, has it only been a week?

You bit your lip, "Wh-Why?" He looked almost as nervous as you did, trying to hold your small form with his huge hands and not hurt you would be difficult, "While I was working out, Vega told me that they could get infected if they weren't cleaned."

You looked down to your hands, twiddling your thumbs together, "Wh-Why can't Vega do it?"

Ouch, that kinda stung, but he gets it. Vega is a robot and will do it without flaw, with him doing it, human error is a huge risk. "He said he's working on something—" Which meant the AI was either scouring through UAC files or working on a " _surprise_ ," he said he had planned. Doomguy brought one of his hands up to your cheek and brushed his palm against you, "—Don't worry. You trust me, right?"

That caused you to pause for a moment, considering the question. _Do you trust him?_

One one hand, yes, you do. He saved your life and is giving you food and water and a place to sleep for crying out loud. But, on the other... He hasn't even told you his first name and took him a whole week for him to show you his face.

You nodded your head regardless. He patted you on the head and then turned around to grab some tweezers. You shuddered at the sound of metal clanking together as he turned back around.

He slid his hands over your bare skin again, and you caught him occasionally glancing uh, let's just say a little higher than your torso, and not your face, either. He grabbed a cotton swab and slowly pressed it to your bruised stitches.

You let out a squeak of pain, the wound was still open and scabbing up, but it hurt like hell as the chemicals seeped into your skin. What you weren't expecting to hurt so bad was him just simply snipping the little black stitches. Your fingertips dug into the metal table and your legs wound together, he pulled back for a moment to look up at you biting your lip in pain with a little "Sorry."

Doomguy let you breathe for a moment, watching your chest rise and fall with the breaths. It was hard to keep his eyes away when they were right in his face, ok?! It's like giving a starving person some cake and telling them not to eat it. He's gonna eat it.

"If it's too much, just squeeze or tap my arm." With a nod, he grabbed the tweezers and pinched one of the stitches, "Want me to go fast like a bandaid or slow and ease it out?"

"Fast," You breathed out, they were so tightly wound even the act of him touching it hurt, "Just— Just get it over with."

He nodded and began prodding at your sutures. You watched as wire after wire was pulled out of your side, making you squirm. You let out a strangled moan of pain once he was finished, your fingers found their way down to your throbbing injury and pressed against it, trying to ease away the sting.

Doomguy's hands didn't leave your knees, he stood there holding you until you were able to properly breathe again, then he muttered a, "One last thing, alright?"

You whined but allowed it nonetheless. He pressed the swab to the open wound again, and you couldn't help but grab ahold of his wrist. He looked just as pained as you did, and finally, he adhered a bandage to the wound.

He pulled away and looked down at your face, your cheeks were red and you were breathing hard, clutching onto your chest. He found his fingers itching to lurch at you and press his palms against your skin, but he refrained from doing so.

"Do you... Wanna take a shower?" Doomguy asked, you looked up at him, "I dunno if I have any pants that will fit you, but... I can bring you a hoodie or something if yer cold?"

You nodded and he backed up, allowing you to stand. Once you found your footing, he pulled you into his chest and lured you back down the stairs. He had a very steady grip on your shoulders as the floor began descending.

You found your eyes trailing up his arm, to his shoulder, and to his face. He was glancing at your breasts out of the corner of his eye— Again— Making your hands absentmindedly cover yourself.

He seemed to notice, and you could've sworn his face was pink.

When the elevator stopped, he ushered you down the hallway from your usual sleeping space and opened a door for you. It slid open, revealing a bathroom, "Uh, wait here I'll grab you a towel an' some clothes."

Doomguy scurried away and returned with said items, then piled them into your hands. He pat your head again with a smile, then turned to leave you to your business.

You sat all the cloth onto the kitchen sink counter, Vega's voice crackled up, making you jump, "Under the sink are essential items. Take as much as you need, apologies for my absence today, I have been at work on something I think you will like a lot."

"Oh, thank you. And it's alright, what is it?" You queried.

"A surprise... I suppose." He seemed unsure of the word surprise, you could audibly hear him shrug.

"That's vague, heheh. But I'm sure it'll be cool." You smiled in the general direction of his voice, making him chuckle, "Yes, quite... Cool."

As you turned back to the mirror to take your fingers through your hair, an unexpected thought flashed in your mind, " _Wait,_ Vega can you see m—"

"Enjoy your shower."

With that, he left you standing there, the question still was up in the air. He probably blipped out of the room and back to the hub, or so you're hoping. When he was in a room with you, you could tell, it always seemed more... Lively... And comfortable.

You shrugged then bent over to grab whatever he was talking about. There were toothbrushes, some razors, washcloths, and other stuff, and you grabbed ahold of what you needed and stood back upright, then looked around for a comb.

You eyed the ceiling as you stripped off your clothes, blushing at the fact that, if Vega was able to see from the ceiling, you be staring him dead in the eye as you got naked. You looked at the floor.

The warm water on your skin felt so damn good. You haven't had a shower in a week back at the URF, and the blood and sweat that was caked into your skin probably wasn't too attractive.

There was only dude shampoo in here, and you hesitated on using it because wouldn't that be a little weird? I mean, you used random handsoap back at the lab to shower... But, after some contemplating, you decided you didn't care and used the shampoo anyways.

After you stepped out and grabbed your towel, you felt so much better. You looked down at the clothes Doomguy had given you: a huge plain grey sweatshirt, white tank top, different longer socks, and it looks like a cut pair of jeans so you could have some shorts?

You chuckled at his sweet efforts and pulled on your undergarments then the clothes he had provided. The hoodie was so big you had to pull up your sleeves so your hands could be free and it almost went down to your knees. However, it smelt so fricken good you didn't even care.

With your towel, you dried your hair and then walked out of the bathroom. You made it back to the living room, where Doomguy was sitting on the couch, remote controller in hand. He was still wearing that damn tank top and joggers with a grin on his face.

"Hey." He greeted as you sat down, "How was your shower?"

"It was good, thanks." You smiled.

"Wanna watch a movie?" He questioned, "I have a bunch of old CD's."

Your eyes sparkled, making his chest tighten, "Hell yeah!"

He chuckled, motioning to the floor where all the CD's were scattered out. You got on your hands and knees, then picked out some zombie horror movie. "Oh, that one 's good." He nodded in approval, as you handed it to him.

Doomguy leant down and pushed it into the DVD player, opening his arms back up for you to fill the space within them. Graciously, you took up the offer and plopped down beside him, his arm rested on your shoulders as he clicked "Play" on the screen. You grabbed the blanket you'd been using and threw it over your legs, getting comfortable on his chest.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta translation:
> 
> "You...will...die!"


	8. 08 | INCIPIENCE : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> quality y/n and vega time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys im literally screaming please go look at these amazing fanarts

[yn being badass and doomguy and vega blushin](https://dopehorsesposts.tumblr.com/post/616815120441540608/hell-yeah-baby-more-fanart-what-about-it-i-just) by dopehorsesposts

[doomguy and yn ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616763384524865536/ah-hello-i-read-your-fanfic-its-super-awesome)by heydashcake

[AN ANIMATION?!](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616881984433750016/im-done-i-just-loved-your-design-for-yn-for) by mimicentral

[reader and doomguy smoochin and vega bein angy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616779060393230336/vega-requires-ass-too) by me

[doomguy thirst memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616764303293415424/oh-my-gucking-god-i-didnt-see-you-asded-more-im)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It's been a few more days, every night has somewhat become a ritual, whenever The Slayer gets home from one of his missions or finishes helping Vega with his _surprise_ , he comes down and bundles up with you on the couch to marathon all his CD's.

You don't remember falling asleep last night, but when you woke up, you were bundled up under blankets on the couch.

"I see you're awake." Vega greeted as you sat up.

"Hey," You stretched, looking around to see a spot on the couch next to you where it looked like someone else had been there just a moment prior. It's become an accidental habit to fall asleep on the Doom Slayer himself. Wow, that's embarrassing... But also... It's become a habit of his to let you fall asleep on him and absentmindedly cuddle you as you sleep. Is that creepy? He hopes not...

"The Slayer said he would like me to get your armor re-fitted to make sure it was all put back together correctly. He wants you to practice your techniques down in the Ripatorium. Unfortunately, he is on a mission at the moment."

"A mission? But... Isn't he hurt?" You questioned half asleep, begging to roll back over into bed.

Vega pulled the sheet off of you, urging you to get up, "His Praetor Suit has been fixed, meaning it can heal him along the way. Don't worry about him, he has killed thousands upon thousands of demons before. And some really strong ones, as well."

You frowned, moving to pull the hoodie down over your legs to keep yourself comfy and warm. If Vega could facepalm, he would have, why is it so hard to wake you? He began trying to shove you off the couch with his robotic arm, "C'mon I want to show you what I've been working on, as well."

Now your eyes were open, "It's done?" You sprung up, kind of excited.

There was a low sigh, "Almost, actually, I'm kind of hoping I could get your help on it. The Slayer knows how to smith armor and create firearms— but not rewire circuits, and seeing the improvements you've made on your cyber suit, I'm assuming you can do better than him."

You rubbed your chin, "Wiring, huh? I can try to, but I have to have the right stuff."

"We have a whole armory and weapons unit, I'm sure you'll have the right tools."

"A _whole_ armory?" You spun around, "Where's it at?"

The elevator opened up, and without a second thought, you jumped right in. When it got to the top floor, a few doors you haven't been in yet opened, revealing what looked to be an armor and weapons storage room.

"Careful not to touch anything, The Slayer treats these like his babies."

You scoffed, then locked eyes with— " _AHH_!" you jumped up and away from the robotic figure hooked up to a charging port. It was just as tall as the Slayer with his armor on if not just a tad bit taller, maybe 7'5 feet tall. It had seams in-between the black metallic surfaces that formed lines down its face and torso, "Holy shit that scared me."

"Ah, apologies." You could hear Vega chuckling to himself, "This is what I've been working on. A physical platform so I can fulfill The Slayer's wish of caring for you easier."

You blushed lightly, one: at the newfound knowledge that Doomguy had ordered Vega to take care of you while he was away, and two: the fact Vega went out of his way to make sure that you were taken care of.

With a huff, you began to mess with the robot's face, rolling its head on its neck, "You built this? How?"

"I constructed it using old UAC files, apparently it was in Samuel Hayden's favor to create a physical platform for me. Yet, he did not. I saw how he made his body and tried to duplicate it, but I made sure there were enough processers to run my AI."

"Wait—" You turned away from the robot and eyed the ceiling again, "From the UAC files? You have access to them?"

"Affirmative."

"Why? What's in them that you can get?" Your muscles suddenly tensed as Vega took a moment to respond, maybe he can retrieve what you were after in the URF...

"Anything I need."

You hopped up, opening your mouth, but... Then you realized it wasn't something you could just ask him about it, "That... That's cool." You blurted out, trying to mask your sudden hopeful burst in hopes he wouldn't question you on it.

"Were you going to say something else?" Vega inquired.

You looked down at the floor and to your feet.

He recognized the body language you were giving— You were deflecting it, trying to put off this conversation, "Yeah... But I uh... It's not important. Show me what you want me to do with this, I can see if I can help."

Vega caught the change of subject, but shrugged it off, "Sure, I just need you to open up the chest plate on the armor and make sure everything is wired correctly." 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You were sitting on the ground with random parts and the robot's lengthy body on the ground. Turns out the Doom Marine wired it completely wrong and it was taking longer than expected.

Vega didn't seem to mind, though, and neither did you; it gave you a little while to chat and catch up. Turns out he used to take care of the UAC Mars base and aid Samuel with the ARC and Resistance forces. The two of you seem to have more in common than you thought could ever be possible with an AI.

"Holy shit—" You called, you had the robot sat upright, and your head and shoulders inside of the bulky chest plate, "I think I just finished."

"Excellent." You could hear Vega's smile within his voice, "Thank you for your assistance. Now we can power it up."

"Sure, how do I do that?"

"There is a control panel within the base of the power bank... Open it."

As you squat down, your fingers slid over the bottom of the station. You found a hatch and popped it open, "Now what?"

"Press power, release, then transfer."

You nodded, then hesitated, "Wait, I heard you talking in The Slayer's suit, right? And you control this whole ship?"

"Correct."

"Then... Will that like... Will you not be able to talk to him? Or control the ship?"

"No, I will still be able to remotely control it all; I am still connected to everything. This is more of something I can embody."

With a nod, you did as he commanded, pressing the power button first. The seams within the metal began glowing a bright orange as it's stiff robotic joints relaxed. Then, you pressed release, the power bank had a few cords attached to the body when now fell limp. Then, transfer.

"Transferring AI..." Vega's voice called over the intercom.

Then, the robot before you craned it's head downwards, "Transferred." It called out in Vega's voice, making you jump.

You smiled up at him as he stood, making you feel rather small, "Wow you're tall."

Vega wriggled all of his arms, legs, and fingers around, seemingly stretching them all out. He then looked down at you, "The Slayer was correct, you are quite small. I wasn't able to tell from above." One of his metal hands came down as he leant forward a little, placing it atop your head. He let out a small gasp, then bent all the way down to examine you closer.

Even though he had no mouth, you could tell he was looking at you and smiling due to the soft orange glow resonating out of the Vega icon on his face. His fingers brushed against your cheeks for a moment and then slid down to your shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze.

"I've never... Been able to touch." He muttered, making you smile wider. You opened your mouth to say something before he cut you off, "You're tiny and warm."

You chuckled as Vega stood, then he ushered you over towards the other side of the room. You could barely keep up with his long legs, even though it was just across the floor. He pressed a few buttons on a console on a screen within the wall, and it opened an unseen compartment.

Your eyes glistened, "My armor!" You jumped up, seeing it was all new and shiny and repaired.

"Yes, I fixed it an—"

" _You_ did this?!" You whipped around with a smile, gleaming up at Vega.

The glow to his face shone brighter for a moment as his neck craned down to look at you. He nodded his head, making you let out a squeal that caught him completely by surprise. You grabbed ahold of your armor's hand, running a finger along the slick metallic arm.

Vega pressed a few things and it began to hum, the torso and chest plate suddenly popped open, sliding up and out of place to reveal the compartment within, "If you do not mind, please." He motioned to your armor, and you nodded eagerly.

You took off the hoodie you were wearing and neatly set it on the countertop beside the suddenly rigid Vega, all his joints seemingly became stiff as you peeled the fabric off of your body. You jumped up into your armor, wriggling to shove your feet into their holsters and hands into their compartments.

Vega stood in front of you, "Are the legs too long?" He questioned.

With another swivel of your hips, you tried to reach the latch that your foot catches on, but you couldn't find it, "I think so. Maybe just like an inch shorter?"

The AI pressed a system of buttons and before you knew it, the leg was shifting to accommodate for you. The arms also shortened ever so slightly, allowing your fingers to fit into their slots. You hummed, signaling that it was good. Vega understood and stopped holding down the buttons, then leaned over and closed up the armor.

It swallowed you up like you were nothing, your head barely peeked up over the rim of the chest until you properly stood up inside of it. Vega picked up your helmet that you somehow didn't see and placed it atop your head, releasing the armor's arms so you can adjust it to your preferences.

You pulled your helmet all the way on and clicked it into place. The air within your suit pressurized almost immediately and your respirator hissed as you breathed in.

Vega hummed softly, releasing the rest of the holds on your armor, allowing you to take a step forward and get comfortable. You reached over and poked his forehead, your voice crackled through the speaker, however, it was still distorted, "Now I'm just as tall as you, well... Almost." You still had to look up to him a little.

He poked your visor, "Almost." He took your hands in his, folding up the mech armor and testing its joints, "It's remarkable how you got your hands on hell expedition armor and modified it yourself. Where did you posses the knowledge from?"

With a small chuckle, you frowned at the memory, "Ehhh... I used to help make heavy weapons."

"Heavy weapons? Why?" Vega inquired.

"Uhm..." You looked to your hands in Vega's, "To... Protect... Myself. And other people, I guess?" Your answer was more of a question.

Vega let out a robotic noise, you couldn't tell if it was a grunt or a sigh or what, and without facial expressions, it was a little difficult to pinpoint.

"I've made some upgrades to your suit. UAC armor isn't very sturdy so I buffed the side plates up. Also, I added an intercom that's linked to my AI so you can communicate with me and The Slayer."

"Woah, holy shit." You pressed your fingers to the sides of the armor, examining it, " _Thank you_."

"It... Was nothing." Vega watched as you stretched out in your armor, making him happy he could make you smile.

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You'd been messing around with Churro on the floor, letting Vega try to hold her was pretty funny to watch. He kept on trying to poke at her beak and sprouting feathers (which she did not like whatsoever). He said he preferred holding onto you and then sat you right in his lap to compare the feeling of your skin and the peep's fluff. He had determined that you were better to hold since you were warmer, but Churro was still cute.

You were in the middle of showing him how to braid since he was fascinating over the texture of your hair when Vega suddenly stood up, making you shift and plop onto the ground, "The Slayer is home."

"Oh, okay!" You turned around as Vega stood and ushered you over, you quickly put Churro away and followed after him.

The walk up the stairs was quiet, and Vega's robotic ambient somehow sounded like breathing, and his dynamic was eerily human; his movements weren't robotic-like at all, they were fluid and smooth. His fingers were oddly warm, and the glow to his body seemed to be coherent to his emotions... That, he somehow has?

As you neared the top of the stairs The Slayer, who was standing in the hub holding a gun larger than your leg. When he turned around, he almost jumped higher than you were tall, and aimed the gun at Vega, before realizing that it was his companion.

The AI let out a chuckle, walking over to The Slayer and offering a hand. Doomguy clasped ahold of it and shook his robotic arm, you could see him smiling behind his mask, and Vega's aura brightened.

"It's nice to be able to properly see you," Vega called.

Doomguy nodded and patted Vega's shoulder, smiling brightly.

The whole exchange made you grin. Those two had a strong friendship, you could tell.

The Slayer noticed you standing there and walked over to you, leaning down a little to examine your face slightly. He pat your head and motioned you to follow him, turning on his heel and leading you to the weapons storage again.

He ushered you to step into your armor again. You slipped off his huge hoodie once more and stepped back up into your suit. It closed up as you bent down to grab your helmet and pulled it on. You looked up to him, accidentally locking eyes with him through both of your visors. Doomguy smiled at you, then you turned to grab ahold of your plasma gun.

Doomguy pulled you to an elevator, Vega watched with a small wave as the doors slid shut. The Slayer was expectantly shaking your shoulder, grinning at you through his helmet. He was hyped to have someone to fight alongside him, and coming home to see Vega using his robot form that he built was hella cool, as well.

He's just glad he gets to interact with people— Even if one of them is an AI.

The elevator went down floor after floor, making you kinda excited. Your mouth suddenly dangled open as your jaw dropped to the floor, seeing a giant Argentian Titan hanging from the underbelly of the Fortress.

You were brought back out of your daze when the doors opened, it was like kind of an arena almost? It was pretty cool. Chains on either side of the wall opened up and a few demons came pouring out. You jumped up and cocked your gun, but The Slayer grabbed your shoulder and shook his head no.

You raised an eyebrow, and he held out his hand for the gun. You handed it to him, and then he unclipped something from his side; he handed you the gun he was lugging around earlier, making your eyes sparkle.

"Can yah hear me?" His voice battled through the static from the speakers within your helmet as he tapped on the side of your head.

You looked over to him, "Yeah."

"Good. I went out and got you a new gun today since this half-assed plasma rifle aint gonna do you any good." He shook the gun in his hand, (which now looked very small despite it being the size of your arm with the mech off).

"Aww, for me?" You smiled over to him, making him roll his eyes despite the evident smile on his face.

"Yeah. I just wanted you to go ahead and try it out... See if your suit's all ready or if Vega needs to adjust it anymore 'fore I take you out on any missions." He stood in front of you and squinted down at your glowing chest plate.

It was weird being almost the same height as him. But regardless, you nodded, "Fuck yeah!" You growled out, hoisting the gun up and getting it into position.

"Y'know how to work that thing?" He questioned.

With a smile, you shook your head no, "Nah, but I'll figure it out!"

Doomguy snorted, watching as you jumped down from the platform and went headfirst into beating some demon ass. He grinned, watching you move throughout with your clunky armor and the giant firearm like it was nothing. He couldn't believe such a tiny thing is in there operating that. Speaking of tiny things, how did you manage with this gun?

He looked down at the plasma rifle in his hand. It looked really used, there was cemented blood caked into the cracks, dents, and gashes in the grip, and the trigger was so worn down. He flipped it over, examining the other side as well when a mark that looked too intentional towards the bottom caught his eye. He flipped it over to look underneath, and there, on the underside of the nozzle a single word was etched deep into the metal:

" _Valen_ "

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	9. 09 | ORIGINATION : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doomguy wants answers, so he goes to Valen for said answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHH GUYS LOOK THESE BOMB ASS ARTISTS MAKING BOMB ASS FANARTS

[doomguy in a towel](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617030248479031296/i-had-to-pull-out-my-2-am-hoe-playlist-for-this) and [y/n wanting sum doom daddy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/616944456188428288/this-was-a-bit-rushed-bc-i-i-cant-a-r-t) by cassielsuhn

[the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617112980564377600/my-vers-on-yn-from-the-fic-by) by sleepyissleeping

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Ever since last night, The Slayer had been flipping your lousy little gun in-between his fingers, thinking about the name on the bottom of it.

Finally, _finally_ a lead to who you are. After the UAC had double encrypted your identity, Vega and The Slayer were a bit skeptical on who you were. Vega had offered to ask your name, but that would compel you to ask for Doomguy's as well, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to give that up yet. No one knows his name besides Vega.

Just, why the fuck did it have to be Valen?

He needed to go to the Betrayer for quite some time now; Doomguy needed the Celestial Locator to continue searching for the remaining two hell priests, but he's been putting it off ever since you've arrived.

You're the last little sweet thing in his life and he doesn't wanna drag you into this shit. Plus, interactions with Valen were always shit, the two did _not_ have a friendly relationship.

But, this gun thing gives him the motivation to get up and go get his shit done, and might as well hit two birds with one stone and bring your gun along. Or as Doom Slayer likes to say, stab two demons with one blade.

Doomguy stood up, opening the door to his quarters and slipping into the hallway. He passed by the couch, hearing a little chirp resonate from where you usually sleep. You had your back facing him, curled up underneath the comforter from his bed he'd given you.

The Slayer leant over your small body, trying to find the source of the little birdsong, squinting, he could make out the outline of Churro's little fuzzy body tucked underneath your chin as you slept. Heheh, cute.

Th-The chicken, of course...

That's another thing, he has the urge to protect you despite not even knowing your name. It's like he was drawn to you from the first time he's even acknowledged your presence. You're just so small... Lately, he's been filled with so much anger from the second coming of hell, but you just managed to shake it right out of him.

Absentmindedly, he leant down and curled a piece of your [h/c] hair on his finger, sighing to himself as he stood back up. Doomguy made his way over to the elevator and stepped inside, but not without glancing back over his shoulder at you once again.

I mean, he wasn't just gonna let you die when he first met you. No way, no how. It's forever only been him in this great big universe, and for some damn reason, you make him wanna change that. Even if you _were_ some little teenage boy when you took off your mask, he would have taken you in and taught you like you were his disciple. At least, that's what he likes to tell himself.

Once he was in the armory, he pulled on his Praetor, then turned to Vega in his charging station and flicked his forehead. The robot angrily churned to life and turned his head to the burly man, "Yes?"

"M' goin out, gonna get the Celestial Locator you were talking about." He tapped the side of his helmet, showing he was all ready and suited up.

"You're going to go to hell? With that Marauder stalking you?" Vega questioned, making Doomguy look to his boots.

It's true, that Marauder has been on his ass lately, but whenever Doomguy tried to provoke a fight with him, he just zips away in a portal. Maybe... he's tracking him?

He shrugged, "Gotta see what's up with this." The Slayer dangled the gun in front of Vega, who then nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, the portal is prepared when you are."

Doomguy held up one of his gauntlets, making a fist. Vega raised his hand as well, bumping his robotic knuckles with the Slayer's armored ones as he walked out of the room.

He walked to the center of the hub where a portal ripped open, humming slightly as he ripped the needed parts out of the control deck, stepping in. As soon as he got through, the blast of the heat from within hell made his armor suddenly feel a lot warmer than it was just a few seconds ago.

The silver door in front of him stood tall, but Vega took care of it within seconds, opening it up and deactivating all the wire trips, "There are motion sensors and artillery everywhere."

As the large guns turned towards the Slayer, the lights within suddenly flickered and they deactivated.

There, sitting in the middle of the room around his campfire, sat Valen. Head in his hands. The Slayer walked up to him, catching his attention.

Valen grimaced, and the two exchanged tense eye contact, "I told you all to leave me here." Valen called, "I am where I belong."

The Slayer only motioned towards the device in his hand, placing the locator on one of the seats around the fire. Valen eyed down at it, then stood up, "Saving your people will not bring you peace." The Betrayer eyed it, then took it in his hand, "Only make the burden you carry worse."

Valen was one of the best mechanics in the Sentinel army. He's engineered many suits and weapons, including the giant guns and security system the Slayer had to get through just moments prior.

It was quiet, only the drone of the hellscapes and crackling fire made noise. Occasionally, there would be a zap or something off to the side while Valen fixed up the locator. The Slayer sighed, sitting down on one of the seats and waiting for the finished product.

A few moments later, Valen came back, setting down the locator with a repaired buff on the side and glowing blue orb within the center. When the Slayer did not get up, however, Valen raised an eyebrow, "This is not the only reason you're here, is it?"

Doomguy looked up to the Betrayer, then shook his helmet. Valen sat down across the fire from him, glancing up towards the armored man with tentative eyes. The Slayer grabbed the gun off his utility pouch and tossed it over to him. Valen caught it, then examined the piece of metal.

His face turned pale, "Where... Where did you retrieve this from, Slayer?" He questioned, looking up to the visor that was glaring at him.

He looked to the floor, then motioned to the gun itself, " _Her_ "

"She... She is alive?" Valen seemed somewhat relieved, but it was quickly wiped off his face when Doom Slayer raised his hand and pressed his fingers together, resembling a mouth opening and closing, " _You better start talking._ "

The Betrayer looked down to the measly little firearm, letting out a hum, "She's a Sentinel." The answer was blunt, as most things from him were despite his insults.

Doomguy was taken aback by this, leaning forward to try and edge more out of him, that means that it was him, Valen, and you... The last Sentinels left.

"I worked beside her... She made weapons and artillery for our armies. Then, the Maykrs began showing their true colors and began taking over the priests. She wasn't having it, and the last I saw of her was when the beginning of the rebellion formed. She was one of the original leaders, but they were sabotaged." His voice faltered.

Doomguy stood, extending his blade in a manner of saying " _Spill your guts, or I'll spill them for you_ ".

Valen chuckled dryly, looking awry, "She... Came back to hell after everyone had fallen during your reign."

The Slayer wanted to belt out a ' _Fallen no thanks to you, that is..._ ' Yet he held his tongue.

"She didn't recognize me. She didn't remember even the word ' _Sentinel_ ', couldn't even say hello to me in Argenta. I asked her where she'd been, how she was alive..."

"She'd been on Mars... With the robot... She... Didn't remember what had happened." Valen scowled.

Robot?

Oh, he must be talking about your time as an Elite Guard and how you're linked to the UAC.

Valen looked to the gun in his hand, gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white, "I... I couldn't... I couldn't save her," The Betrayer inhaled sharply, "I'm glad she doesnt remember me. I am a coward."

Doom Slayer didn't want to stand around listening to him wallow in his pity. Although it seemed he was getting somewhere with him, he knew he was only scratching the surface.

Without another word, he turned around and grabbed ahold of the locator, Valen watched with sorrow as he made his way towards a portal.

"Hear me, Slayer—"

The Marine turned to look behind him. 

"When his heart is laid to rest, then his soul will be at peace," Valen reached down to his toolbelt, gripping the handle of a knife. He gave the blade a final lookover before tossing to the green armored marine, "... So will mine."

Vega shut the portal behind him, leaving Valen _alone_...

_Or... So he thought._

"Greetings." Vega walked up to The Slayer, he gave a nod back in response.

"I have some good news," The AI chimed, making Doomguy tilt his helmet like a dog.

The robot took ahold of the locater, "I will take care of this. Go to your headquarters, I will meet you there... She is still asleep so now would be the best time."

Oh... So this is about you.

He nodded, then sighed as he got into the elevator to go to his quarters.

When he passed your curled up form on the couch, he reached to pull the gun off of his holster and facepalmed when he realized it wasn't there. He lingered for a moment more, looking down at your little face, a Sentinel huh...? Sure are small for one... And uh, a female.

Heh, not many of those in the Night forces.

He chuckled, before stepping away and down the hallway. He heard the little pitter-patter of feet behind him, and when he turned around, he saw none other than Churro.

The bird ran right up to him and pecked his armor, damn, feisty lil one. Doomguy began walking down the hallway, trying not to squash the little peep that was walking right in-between his boots.

As he got to his room, he pulled off his helmet and gauntlets, watching as the bird up and walked right into his room like she owned the place.

Vega's voice met his ears as it sounded from the ceiling, urging him over to his computer. Doomguy sat in his chair, watching as the three monitors powered up, making his brows press together.

He felt scurrying on his cleat, when he looked down he saw Churro perched atop his foot, making him chuckle and scoop her up to seat her on his shoulder.

"I retrieved UAC files and codex entries, this should give us some context." Vega took control of his mouse momentarily and opened up a few unseen files.

Password after password was entered, damn... These really were protected.

"I've not overlooked them yet, but... They are under Olivia Peirce's name. I'm assuming the reason they were so encrypted is since this is one of the experiments she was performing for the Deag and their cult. Samuel is trying to cover up that chapter of the UAC, begin anew. Unfortunately, all of them are out of order, so I'll just start at the first one."

"Ugh..." Doomguy scoffed, he hated Olivia.

Vega clicked on one last icon, and a box of text popped up. He really didn't feel like listening to Olivia's deranged writings, so he skimmed through the document, only catching snippets;

_**> USER//:"OLIVIA PIERCE"FILENAME=NX.0666-010{report.txt}** _

_...It has been 12 days now. Patient has awoken from Argent stimuli..._

_...It's unknown as to how long it'd been in hell for._

_...No form of communication seems to get through, written or verbal._

_Note, the healing process has seemed to be much faster than a normal human... Laceration that certainly ripped through muscle and tendons on the back is almost healed..._

_Again, this is only the twelfth day since initial discovery..._

_...Recovery estimations made by professional medics were estimated at months until it'd heal... And its already conscious after so much bloodloss._

_It is unknown if hell energy, argent, or other variables may be the cause..._

_Again, it might not be a human..._

_...I don't know why Dr. Hayden insisted on bringing it._

_But by god... We sure can use it._

Doomguy scoot backward in his chair as the screen flipped to Vega's icon. The two sat in silence for a moment, before Doomguy shook his head, "I don' understand?" He muttered.

Vega's distressed voice resonated with a grunt, "Like I said, they are... Very disorganized. I can try to put them in order for you, if you'd like?" He suggested as the PC turned off, "I suggest you get some rest. We can read more later..."

The Slayer nodded, cupping Churro in his hands and plopping her on his bed as he stripped himself of his armor. Maybe some cuddles will help him sleep.

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The heavy footsteps of armor shook Valen. He turned around, expecting to see the Slayer since he was the only one to slip past his guns unannounced, but instead, he locked eyes with red irises.

In a blatant wave of shock, he drew his weapon and pointed it at the demon's skull, however, it made no move to attack.

"Speak your business," Valen called, standing strong with your rifle in his hand.

"The gun." The Marauder spoke, " _Tarad n latia._ "

Valen glanced down to the weapon in his arm, then looked back to the demon, " _Nevas_."

"The _truth_." The demon's eye sockets narrowed, "What? Unable to recognize one of your own disciples? One of your... _Brethren?_ "

"You are no longer a Sentinel, you are sick... Demented." Valen shook his head, steadying his hand by clasping his other fist around the gun as well.

"Oh... But I _am_. I lead the new reign of the Sentinel army. A lot has happened since your inital betrayal... _Du'uk xar nevikad._ " The Marauder taunted.

"Who... Who _are_ you? What are you here for? _To'ar n'ar kab!_ "

" _Tarad b'ur nek?_ " The demon smirked, "I am Ba'al-Berituk, Commander of the New Hell, just below the Khan herself."

Valen seemed taken aback by the name, or maybe it was the fact he spoke of a "New Hell". The skeleton sockets peering down at him and the mask over the lower half of the demon's head made Valen's skin crawl.

This man is not what he used to be.

"And you are Valen," The demon spoke, "The one with the answers to my questions."

Valen hesitated, before lowering the gun, "Questions?"

"Who is the third Sentinel." Ba'al got right to it, and his tone was flat, it didn't even sound like a question, more of a command.

He'd been listening to him and The Slayer's conversation.

The Betrayer found his throat to be dry, he tried to think up something to say, but Ba'al cut him off, "Don't bother lying... It'll only make things harder. Wouldn't want the Khan to find your little hideout... Would we?"

Valen raised the gun once more.

" _The third Sentinel_. Where are they."

There was a heavy silence in the air, before Valen inhaled, "I don't... I don't know, last I saw her, the hell priests were carrying her off."

Ba'al didn't say a word for a moment, just let out a hum, "I'll cut you a deal, heh heh... We know how much you _love_ making those, Betrayer..."

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "Who's it belong to?"
> 
> "It's mine."
> 
> "We are stronger."
> 
> "Leave me be!"
> 
> "Who am I?"


	10. 10 | ORIGINATION : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doomguy takes you on your first mission, but you end up having to stay on Earth due to an unforeseen circumstance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait have a long chapter

[the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617242017932705792/guys-literally-look-at-this-chorkles-is-a-gift) by chorkles 

[the reader and her gun by](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617428507292762112/yes-ofc-it-is-okay-i-love-it-so-much-wha-i-cant) epicaandk-creative

[doomguy being doomguy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617612206391083008/some-bby-boi-content-for-u-maam) by keyedup-geek

[dumbass doodles](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617594202050723840/yn-and-vega-quietly-giggling-when-they-find-out) by me

[doom daddy doodles](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617574050334736384/goldeendraws-doodles-of-the-slayer-q) by goldeendraws

[Churro and the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617649809080320000/holy-fucking-shite-this-is-so-good-i-swear-to-god) by skeleton-doe

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With a snivel, you woke up and let out a little sneeze, one of Churro's feathers had probably lodged itself in your nostril when you were asleep. How fun. Speaking of the little riot, you heard her squeals off in the corner to see Vega with the chick in his hands.

Your little squeak of a sneeze must have startled the two, for when you looked up at them both of their heads had snapped in your direction, "Hi, heheh." You waved and tore yourself out of the blankets, standing up to stretch.

Vega precariously sat her back into her cage and stood straight up, grabbing your hands and inspecting your face for a moment before releasing you, "Have you rested well?"

"Mmhm," You shuffled as he began shoving you towards the staircase, "Woah, woah, what's the hurry?"

"The Slayer wants to get you up and ready. He wants to take you out to on a mission today to see if you are as skilled in combat as fabled."

Those words took you by surprise. Gleefully, you jumped up and spun around to face the AI, making him stop pushing you, "Are you for real?" It's been so long since you have been in the fresh air and seen the sky, you don't even remember what clouds look like.

Vega audibly raised an eyebrow, "You... Are _excited_ to go into a _demon horde_?"

Your excitement suddenly died down, "Oh, uh... No? I'm just excited to get out." You hummed as he managed to push you up the stairs.

"Do you not like the Fortress?" Vega leant down a little behind you so he could see your facial expression as it twisted, "No, no! I just haven't seen the sky in so long."

Vega exclaimed in understanding as you reached the top of the stairs. There stood The Slayer, half suited up. His top half was still un-armored, but his legs up to his waist had all the necessary plates adorned to them.

He looked over to you and waved, "Mornin' shorty."

He motioned you and Vega beside him, then turned to the control hub and pressed a few buttons, making another armor station slide down from the ceiling beside him. Your armor was in it, making you wonder how Vega just magically transports everything to-and-fro, but you decided not to question it.

Doomguy leant down a little bit to poke at your cheek, "You sleep well?"

"Yeah, thank you." You smiled lightly as he stood up, placing both hands on his hips, "Don't mention it, girlie." Then he turned back to his armor, getting it on himself as it was nothing. You absentmindedly caught sight of his biceps as he worked, slipping them into his chest plate, "I was thinking about taking you down to Earth, maybe teaching you a thing or two? You ever fought before?"

Doomguy already knew the answer to that question if you truly were a Sentinel, but he can't base anything 100% off of what Valen says, that dick is a liar.

"I've had my fair share." You shrugged as he suddenly spun around to face you once his chest plate was on correctly, "Good! Let me help you here." He pulled your armor out of the booth like it wasn't 1,000 pounds and hoisted it upright to stand, then offered you a hand to hop up into it.

You did as commanded, it clasped together and encased you inside as you got comfortable within. You grinned down at him, he still had to put on the last layer of armor to get his height gain, "How's it feel to be the shorty?"

He smiled up at you as he turned to clothe himself in the last layer of mech, "Where'd you even get that armor?" He questioned, making you look down to your feet.

The burly man noticed the sullen expression on your face as you recalled how you adorned the armor.

You were shoved into hell but nothing with a pistol. You knew it was wrong, but you shucked it clean off one of your fallen comerades. With a hum, you looked up, "Stole it."

"What?" The Slayer laughed, now up and at the same level as you, "It came all done up to fit you, though?"

"Mmh, nah, I did that." You rubbed the back of your head with the armor's huge fingers as he slipped on his gauntlets, "Oh? Where'd you learn to build mech?"

Your mouth opened, but then it shut, sighing lightly, "I just know how to, I guess. It's one of those things that you're kinda fucked in this world if you can't."

Doomguy let out a rough chuckle, "Amen to that." You felt a metal hand slap against the back of your armor, resonating in a metal clunk throughout your body, "You ready?" Doomguy inquired, hoping to change the upset expression spread about your features.

"Oh, yeah!" You spun around to grab your helmet, but Vega was already holding in his hands. Woah, it was weird almost being the same height as him. With a ruffle of your hair, he placed your helmet on your head for you as the air within compressed.

You gave him a small wave as you felt yourself being tugged over to the main hub by your accomplice, watching a portal zap to life. Your eyes widened, the closer you got to the portal, the more visible the surroundings were on the other side. The Slayer pulled you through, and you felt your boots hit hard concrete.

The parking garage roof you were standing on was half torn up. The buildings around you were skeletons of what they once used to be, windows shattered and walls broken. When you looked at the sky, it wasn't blue like you had remembered, it was a dark musty grey.

Doom Slayer's voice spoke through the speakers on your comm, "D'ya know how demon hordes work?" He was motioning towards the building left in complete disarray infront of you.

You nodded your head, yes, reaching for your plasma rifle in its holster to find it wasn't there. Shit.

Doomguy had your back though, he yanked a chunk of metal off his side and handed it to you, oh! It was that gun he had given you a few nights ago to try out. "Thanks." You called, his helmet nodded.

Without another word, he jumped down from the roof like it was nothing. You inhaled and shook out your neck, it's been a while since you've been able to do this.

You hopped down as well, and The Slayer already had a few demons crawling into the blades of his chainsaw. When all the demons saw you, they all froze for a second, they almost looked, confused?

Who cares though, you have job to do.

Your gun fired up, and the pull of the trigger rocked your entire arm.

Hot damn, this gun was some real shit.

The two of you carried on for a few minutes until your boot squished in the familiar feeling of slick mud. You shuddered inside, looking down at the brain-like flesh you were standing upon.

Your partner seemed unaffected though, he was watching you grimace lightly as he moved along. You looked back to the weird brain wall, wondering what— Or how its there?

You know what—? Don't question it.

You probably dont want to know the answer to your own question.

As you readied your gun, more demons came pouring out of holes in the walls of the buildings. You managed to take down the first two Mancubui on your own, ruthlessly shoving your gun down their throat and firing it off like it was nothing.

Doom Slayer seemed to stop fighting to watch what you were doing frequently, making you a little self-conscious— But that wasn't going to stop you from beating some demon ass.

Vega sparked up within Doomguy's helmet, "It seems she has Sentinel fighting tactics. Obviously, she knows what she's doing."

The Slayer waved him off with a nod, watching as you went at the demons like you were born to.

Well, if you were a Sentinel that's... kinda the whole thing. But whatever.

He kept on staring at you, making him take a few hits of damage here and there. He tried to snap out of it, but he found his eyes wandering back over to you every so often as he stood completely dormant, his stomach fluttering for some... _Unknown_ reason.

Your fingers were fumbling on how to grip the new gun, making Doomguy sometimes lean over and try and grab your elbows to position your hands correctly in-between his glory kills.

Every little pit stop he made to check his map, he also kept on religiously checking on you, making sure your armor was all tight and your gun was all reloaded.

The surroundings were gruesome and you're glad you had a suit on to filter the smell of rust and demon guts. You could tell the air was hot and wet due to the precipitation on your visor and beads of water dripping down Doomguy's armor.

Both of you made your way downwards until you came across more of the flesh walls.

Already, you had cleared out the rest of the horde before finally showing up to... Whatever the fuck youre looking at now.

You shook your head side to side and grimaced, watching the mess of organic matter ungulate.

Doomguy laughed beside you, "Pretty, ain't it?" He clapped a hearty hand onto your back and held up something in his hand to you; a grenade.

"You used one 'a those before?" He questioned.

"Yeah," You grasped a hold of it as he yanked another one-off his side, "Good, yer gonna have to throw it at the same time as me. When we get out there, there's gonna be a shitton of demons out 'dere, we're gonna take most of 'em out with these."

"Okay, will do." You nodded as he started to make his way towards disgusting gob of flesh.

"W-Wait—" You muttered.

"Yeah?" He looked back over his shoulder.

"We— We gotta go _in_ that?"

The armored man chuckled, turning around to face you, "C'mere." He opened his arms.

You walked over, and he clasped ahold of your shoulders, looking through your visor at your eyes, " 'S gross, I know. But it's... Not as bad as it looks."

"Jus' follow me, m'kay? Ain't nothing bad gonna happen to you long as I'm here." He smiled, and grabbed the back of your helmet, knocking the front of his against yours.

You felt yourself blush as he turned to go, trudging down the tight hallway. You grimaced at the sloshing noises it made against your armor and the slick feeling of it sliding across the metal. You sure were glad you were covered up, but you kind of felt bad for Doomguy, who's biceps were somewhat exposed.

Huh, you wondered why his armor had bicep holes. What a weirdo. Hah, you wonder if all his armor has bicep holes... Or even an ab window! Pfft... If only you knew.

When the two of you made it out of the nasty ass tunnel, you were met with the night sky. Had you been in those buildings for that long? Well, it did make sense, since you had to go to all of the levels and clear out the demons.

You readied your grenade as Doomguy did with his. Beneath you, around 40 demons suddenly came charging at you.

Your partner spoke up, "Pull the tab on go."

"Right."

"Three..."

You watched as the first few demons made their way to the bottom of the 5 story building you were on.

"Two..."

They scaled the first floor easily, the next floor was a little harder because of the rubble and debris, but they managed to get up.

"One..."

The horde began their descent onto the fourth floor.

"Go!"

Just as they reached the fifth floor, The Slayer pulled his tab, you doing the same. You threw the grenades, down to the oncoming crowd, and suddenly two strong hands were placed on your hips.

In one swift movement your feet left the ground and you were suddenly being hefted down the side of the building, your feet landing on the street below.

The structure you just stood on fell over, the last remaining support beams blown up by your grenades. The rubble falling down and crushing the staggering demons that weren't already blown up.

You glanced down to the Slayer's hands on your waist as he let you go. How he maneuvered you down and off that building so quickly was beyond you.

He turned back to you, and you could see his eyes behind his mask crinkled, meaning he was smiling, "How was _that_ for a first mission?"

You smiled back, "Nasty." You joked, slicking a finger against the strange saliva the flesh mound left on your armor, making him hum out a laugh. He grabbed ahold of your shoulder again and pulled you a little further away from the building as it started to fall.

Vega's voice grabbed your attention, "I advise you to stay put for now. I'm being pinged about your armor serial number by what I'm only assuming to be is the UAC. They know you're wearing it even though it's offline, I think it may be chipped and I somehow missed it during the reconstruction process."

The Slayer looked over to you, "Can they see our location right now?"

"I'm not sure. It seems they can only see location when she's charging it and its hooked up to repair-log seevers, so don't come back to the Fortress until I'm sure they can't follow you here."

You looked down at your armor's legs, furrowing your brows. Fuck, this is your fault, isn't it? "What does that mean?"

Doomguy rubbed the back of his neck, "Mean's we gotta find shelter and get that off'a you to search for a chip, c'mon."

You followed him but faltered when he just vaulted up a 120ft concrete wall like it was nothing. You looked around for some stairs and sighed once you realized you were gonna have to walk up them with a 1000lbs mech suit on.

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Thankfully, you were on the outskirts of a city in a suburban area, so there were small houses in run-down neighborhoods not too far out. However, it felt _real_ fucking far out when you're running, jumping, and fighting in a whole set of armor.

The houses begin to get more spread out as trees started coming into view. The sky had cleared up since you were so far away from the city the smog was gone. There weren't many demons out here, mostly in the bigger cities since everything out in the suburbs seemed like it was all destroyed anyway, reduced to ashes and rubble.

Doomguy suddenly stopped, you jogged up behind him and caught your breath. Damn, this motherfucker was fast. "This house looks promising." He motioned over to a little red house out in the middle of a field on the edge of the woods, making you suddenly pipe up, "Aw! A little cottage house. I've heard of those."

He looked over to you, confused, "You've _heard_ of them?"

You looked to your feet, then back up to him, "Yeah? In a book I read, it had pictures and stuff about how life on Earth was."

The Slayer stood for a moment, looking you up and down, "You've... Never lived on Earth?"

"Uhm..." You tilted your head, "No? Have you??"

He nodded his helmet up and down, your eyes widened, "Wait, _you have_? Tell me about it!" As he began walking towards the house, you grabbed ahold of his arm to try and pull some earthling stories out of him.

"Once we get settled and the armor off'a you, m'kay?"

You huffed, but nodded regardless, following him over to the little house. It was only one story, it looked like. None of the windows were busted, none of the walls were fallen, and it honestly looked quite homely. 

Doomguy walked up to the door, placing one of his large gauntlets on the doorknob. When he turned the handle, the lock seemingly broke against his sheer strength and the door swung right open.

He looked back over to you, "Whoops." He laughed, then ducked into the door.

As you ducked inside, it was soon evident how untouched this house was. The bookshelves in the living room were still organized, the blankets on the back of the couch were still neatly folded, and no shoes by the front door had been scattered.

Doomguy and you swooped through the whole house once just to be sure no one was currently residing there, and it miraculously turned out there was still running water and just barely enough electricity to turn on the lights. There was a small bathroom, a fireplace in the living room, what looked to be an office or study room, a well-sized kitchen, and only one master bedroom.

It was funny watching your friend traverse through the house with his armor on, he had to uncomfortably squat downwards whereas the ceilings were just the perfect height for your armor to where you could walk around freely.

Once he had deemed it safe, he signed off to Vega, saying everything was good to go, then took off his helmet.

He looked over to you, then reached down and yanked yours off as well. You bit your lip, expecting him to be mad, but instead he looked down at you for a moment, running a finger along your cheek and examining you.

"Uh—" You began, not looking away from his face as he grabbed your chin.

"Did you get hurt?" He questioned.

Oh. That's what he was doing, "Nuh-uh, you?"

He shook his head no and began shucking off his armor. You did the same until you both stood there in the living room awkwardly.

The Slayer had on a tightly fit t-shirt you recognized as the one he first gave you, and some basketball shorts, but all you were wearing was a white tank top and shorts.

He had piled your discarded armor pieces in front of the busted door since he stupidly broke the lock, which you scolded him for. He sheepishly rubbed his neck.

Without your armor, it was really cold. Doomguy had said it was winter in the region of the Earth you were in, and when you asked him further about living on this planet, he seemed to deflect it, "Let's get some food in you, first."

You shrugged, "Alright." When the two of you made your way to the small kitchen, he started rummaging through the pantries. You opened the fridge, which was a stupid decision.

The contents were all rotten and black, "Eeyuck." You whispered, shutting it again.

Doomguy then gasped to himself, making your head crane over to him, he had a box in his hand, "Holy shit." He whispered.

You tried peeking over his broad shoulder to see the labeling, but he spun around before you could, eyes big and sparkling, " _Pancakes_!" He shook the yellow cardboard box, "Just add water!"

Your eyes wandered back up to his childlike smile, which suddenly made your cheeks flush, "Is there any even in the box?"

He nodded and yanked the flour bag out from within, holy shit— It was almost full.

He started reading the instructions as you searched for a pan and a spatula. Once you found them, he had poured some flour and water into a cup and was mixing it with his finger like some heathen, disgusted, you swat his hand away and opened a few drawers to grab a spoon.

You stirred it the rest of the way for him and tried to tick on the gas stove, but it wouldn't fire up, making Doomguy's happy expression suddenly turn sullen, "Shit. You fuckin' kidding me?" He cursed like some sailor, making you sigh out of pity.

But, then an idea struck, "Oh, wait!" You turned all the knobs so it was off, "Can you pull it out for me?"

He raised an eyebrow but shrugged and did as you said, yanking the oven and stove combo away from the wall. You went to your armor and dislocated its arms, slipping them on over your own.

You looked stupid with arms almost as long as your legs, but Doomguy seemed to be too focused on the disappointment of not eating pancakes to laugh at you.

You squat down behind the oven as the tips of your armored fingers slid off and became soldering irons again. Doomguy's eyes widened as you pulled a few wires out from within a panel on the back of the appliance and hot-wired it.

" _Annnd_... there." You shoved all the wires back in and took the arms off, "You should be able to plug it back in and it'll work."

Doomguy shoved it back in place and leant forward to plug it back in. Then, he flicked on the stove-top, and thankfully it fired up. He turned back to you with a bewildered smirk, "Hey, you ain't half bad, shorty." One of his hands came to ruffle your hair up, making you huff and push his arm away, "Heheh, it wasn't that hard."

He smiled down at you, picking up the mixed batter in the bowl, "Let's eat some pancakes, huh?"

"Hell yeah."

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	11. 11 | ORIGINATION : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cuddles in bed and talking about past trauma? What better way to get to know your soulma— Whoops haha, I meant "new friend"?

[noodle arms](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617950768798007296/thank-you-uwu) and [the reader!](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617944599684677632/haha-ass-im-gonna-read-the-fic-but-the-design) and [the reader ×2!](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618049444067393536/ahhhh-this-is-so-cute-im-your-art-style-is-just) and [Vega and reader dancing](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618153594694352896/they-must-dance-to-the-dancing-queen-and-thats-on) all by fandoomerthesequel

[doomguy's fashion statement](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617924883847020544/i-bestow-upon-you-this-cursed-thing-v) by tjdruid

[vega concept design](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618157294202535936/vega-2o) and [doomguy's face](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/617867148488065024/i-finally-figured-out-how-to-draw-doomguys-face) by me

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_Crunch!_

Your pancakes were blacker than Samuel Hayden's soul, but you watched as Doomguy ate them regardless.

He refused to make you do any of the work, and when you said "Flip the pancake it's gonna be burnt" he said, "I like 'em burnt"... Then got sad when they were.

There also wasn't any syrup, so you were pretty much just eating hard flour. Oh well, though, you'll take whatever food you can get.

After your pitiful meal, Doomguy started looking around the house some more.

You had reattached your armor's arms, and for some reason, you were really really tired. Well, not "for some reason"— You knew it was due to vaulting up skyscrapers all day.

Doomguy returned, and he had some clothes underneath his arms, "Hey uh, there ain't no other bed and it looks like this couch ain't gonna hold either of us." He motioned to the small couch that was more like a loveseat behind you.

With a shrug, you looked back towards him, "I don't mind sleeping there. I'm small." You smiled, despite knowing that you'd be cramped on the pitiful excuse for furniture.

"N-No—" He spoke up rather quickly, "I don't— I ain't gonna let you sleep there. Although you are pretty small, yer back's gonna kill you. Especially after a workout like that."

He was right...

"Well, where else is there to sleep?" You questioned.

You just noticed how pink his cheeks were, making you suddenly flush as well.

The Slayer cleared his throat, "The... Bed in the... Bedroom." He couldn't make eye contact.

"But—" You spoke, "Where will you sleep?"

"Uhm—" He tried.

"Im not gonna let you sleep on the floor." You demanded, he looked down at you, "You're taking the bed, too, then."

Doomguy flushed more, "You sure?"

"Of course," you decided to change the subject, "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh." He dumped the clothes out onto the hideous couch, "I found these in the bedroom. Ah, it might be weird but— I know you ain't really have any clothes."

Why did that make your cheeks feel hotter? "Oh, thank you." That's... Really sweet of him.

You stood up, your legs wobbling from being sore as you started rifling through the clothes.

Most of them were your size, if not just a tad bit bigger. There were some cute little outfits like jeans and t-shirts, some comfy sweats and hoodies, and some tighter fit clothes like crop tops and shorts.

You looked back up to him, "There's a washing machine at the Fortress, yeah?"

He squinted, then shrugged, "More or less, Vega takes care of my clothes so I dunno."

You grinned up to him, "What is he, your A.I. mom?" You joked, pinching his arm a little.

He smiled and swat at your hand, "Whatever short stuff." Doomguy grabbed ahold of your shoulders and pulled you into his chest for a noogie, making you groan out a "Hey!" and start jabbing his torso.

He snickered, pulling your hands away from his body to return the favor, making you spaz and grab ahold of his wrists to try and cease the tickling.

But damn, he was strong. Your legs started giving out from the constricting motions your chest was making from laughing so hard and just pure soreness.

He held you up so you didn't fall, with your back pressed to his chest, both vibrating with laughter. You were limp in his arms, trying to catch your breath with tears in your eyes.

After you regained your composure you pried his muscular arms off of you and stood your ground, pouting up to him.

He had the biggest smile on his dumb face, making it hard to hold your scowl. He leant down and ruffled up your hair again, your lips twitch up into a defeated grin.

"Okay, okay, get off of me you nerd." You pulled his large hands off you and brushed through your hair with your fingers.

Then, you gasped, "Hey! Will you tell me about living on Earth now?"

His smile slowly faded into a more melancholy one, and he shrugged, "Sure..." Then abruptly turned on his heel and walked away.

Confused, you followed Doomguy as he walked down the short little hallway. You watched as he opened the door to the bedroom, charging in.

You stood in the doorway awkwardly, watching as he rubbed the back of his neck while looking at the covers on the bed, "It feels gross sleeping in someone else's bed, eh?" He commented back to you, knowing you had followed him.

"Eh, I've had worse..." You mumbled, "Bed's actually a good score." You grabbed your back, remembering all the nights you slept in a lab chair.

Doomguy looked back at you with a smile, "Ever sleep in a sarcophagus?"

Your eyebrows furrowed, "A sar-what?"

He shook his head, then sat on the edge of the bed. You rubbed your arm, kinda just standing there and staring until he looked up at you and pat beside him.

Meekly, you followed his lead and sat down, he leant back on his hands sucking in a breath through his teeth, "Earth, huh?"

You looked over to him, "Yeah... I mean, what was it like? You— You were here before the invasion, right?"

"Heh...Yeah." He eyed over at your tentative face, "It's been so long since I've lived on a normal Earth, you know?"

"Normal?"

He leant back further on his hands, "Well, I guess ' _normal_ ' for me would be with humans on it. Back when I was just a dumb kid livin' with my parents."

"Parents..." You repeated, "You had a family?"

Doomguy looked up at you, "Yeah. Me, my momma, and a deadbeat dad. I got a pic of us back at the Fortress. One of the only things I really kept from down here."

You listened to him as he talked, answering your questions here and there about humans. The Slayer had learned most of your knowledge of Earth was based on weird Hollywood tropes. Hm, you really are an Argenti.

He told you about how things used to be; stores, parks, the cities, etc. But, one topic he seemed to talk about a little longer than the others, human interaction. He talked about the friendships he used to have, the bullies as a kid, and how he never really got to tell people he was sorry, he said he'd never fell in love with anyone, been in a relationship.

The person he was closest to was his mother, Flora. She was a single mom for most of his life, his dad was in prison. He was an only kid, his mom was too heartbroken after his father was sentenced as guilty to ever try dating again.

"But that's okay." He joked, "Just meant I got all the love and was spoiled rotten."

He spoke about how his mom never had that much money, and how he wanted to be an engineer but never could pay for college. So, he joined the military.

"Y'know, that's the reasons I like flowers so much. They remind me of my mom, Flora." He smiled, "When I'd walk home from school, I'd always make sure to pick a flower from a field by our house n give it to 'er. Daisies were her favorite."

At this point, the two of you had laid down on your back and you were both staring up at the ceiling. Over time, he had wrapped an arm around your neck so you were laying more on his shoulder rather than the pillow, and your hands were wandering up to the rim of his shirt collar. You felt yourself blushing at the casual contact and the surrealism of him holding you close in a bed.

"And... Then I actually got drafted in the marines but uh... I was discharged fer... Uh, breaking all my commanding officer's bones—" You glanced up to him, he continued without another word, "I ended up bein' a security guard on the Mars UAC base. That was the last time I saw anyone fore... Well, all of this."

You felt sympathetic for him, making you nuzzle into his side more and pull him closer. He smelt kinda like pine and aftershave, or just generic dude deodorant and soap.

Wait a minute, did he just say— " _Mars base?_ You were there??" You sat up to look at him, he propped himself up on his arms to look at you, nodding his head.

"I... I was sent up there too." You mumbled you spun to sit crisscross as he sat all the way up.

"What? How?" He questioned, you squinted, trying to reach into your suppressed memories, "I don't— I don't know?" You laughed.

"I was part of the resistance before it became the ARC. I helped whatever survivors we found down here and shuttled them up to the Mars bases and Earth bunkers."

"Earth bunkers? Like tha one I found you in?" Doomguy leant forward a little more, clearly intrigued to listen to your origins.

You nodded, "Yeah... I... I was a UAC Elite Guard. The Earth base would shuttle survivors up to Mars so they could... Work." You looked over to meet his intense gaze, "It's gross, I know. The whole system was— _Is_ corrupt. I hate the UAC."

"Heh, you can say that again. But..." The Slayer shifted so he could look down at you, "You've never lived on Earth? How?"

You bit your lip, "Uhm—"

"You're not a human then, hm?" He spoke, his deep and gravelly voice nipping at your ear.

"Wha—"

"You're an _Argentian_ , a _Sentinel_ , right?" Doomguy spoke out, making you suddenly jump, your eyes grew to the size of dinner plates making Doomguy suddenly think he said something wrong. He was just trying to press for confirmation from what Valen had said.

In one swift movement, you lurched forward and jumped atop him as you grabbed ahold of the front of his shirt, making him let out an "Oof—!" as both of his hands came to wrap around your hips that were straddling his waist.

" _How the fuck do you know that?_ " You cried, balling his shirt up in your hands, he noticed the pained expression on your face as he grabbed your waist tighter to ground you on his pelvic bone.

He would be swooning over the position if not for the fact it looked like you were on the brink of tears... And also maybe threatening him.

Slowly, one of his hands slid up from your hip and to his neck, grabbing ahold of your wrists that were wringing out his shirt collar. You realized what you were doing and released your grip as the two of you held steady eye contact.

His gaze was strong and icy, his brows were furrowed and at the moment you couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

Shit, fuck, you literally just tried to _threaten_ the Doom Slayer _himself_ , this is how you're gonna fucking die, isn't it?

You ruined his trust, fuck—

As your gaze softened, your hands slowly slipped out of his grasp, folding up at your chest. He took the hand that was grasping your wrist and slipped it underneath the rim of his shirt, tugging out the shiny pieces of metal hooked on a chain that he sports around his neck at all times.

The grip on your hip hardened as he suddenly sat up. You almost scoot backward before you realized he was offering you the dog tags.

His eyes never left your face through the whole exchange, making you a little uncertain. But as your eyes focused on the logo on one of the tags, you suddenly jerked forwards to examine it harder.

You were correct, you did recognize the logo.

It was the Night Sentinel emblem.

You didn't even realize your eyes were wet until a tear rolled down your face and the cold stung your hot cheeks.

One of his hands was placed on your face almost immediately as you clenched the piece of metal in your fist and began sniffling into your palms.

The large male suddenly engulfed you within his arms, one hand on your hip to drag you forward further into his lap and the other on your upper back to pull you into his chest.

All at once you stopped crying and managed to look up to him, "Y-You are a Sentinel?"

He nodded slowly, and you hiccuped and threw yourself around him, making him fall back into the bed again with an exasperated grunt. He hummed into the top of your head as you hugged him tighter than you've ever hugged someone in your life.

"I... I thought w-we all... Died..." You pulled away from him and looked down to his eyes, "Are— Are there anymore l-left...?" Your sentence trailed off.

Doomguy shook his head no, "It's just me... And..." He stopped himself, looking up to your tear-stained face.

"And..?"

He whispered again, hesitating on breaking the news to you, "And... Valen."

Your eyes widened, "Valen? You know him?" You spoke, so many emotions hitting you in crashing waves.

Doomguy grabbed your hands again to calm you down, gently thumbing your knuckles, "I... I saw his name on yer gun."

You mouthed an "Oh." As Doomguy once again tried to sit up, maybe you should get off of him.

You began to shift when his firm hands were placed on the outside of your thighs again, holding you in place.

"I went to see 'em the other day... To talk about... Well... _You_." He averted his eyes as he spoke lightly, "I just... needed to know how you were connected to the Sentinels... Also, I needed this machine so I can get to the second hell priest... But, how do you know Valen?" He questioned.

"I met him in hell," You spoke, Doomguy looked surprised. Only he'd made it in and out of hell before.

As you spoke, he held you steady the whole time, "There he told me that I was one of the last living Sentinels. He told me that I needed to protect myself at all costs, there was no safe place for me anymore as I was extremely valuable to the Hell Priests."

"When I had been shoved through the portal, one of the hell priests was there. He was going to kill me on the spot but Valen saved me..."

You hummed, "I didn't trust him, so I ran. But over time we kept on running into each other over and over again. He taught me the ropes, you know."

"But then, we kept seeing so many... _Bodies_." You sighed sadly, "Human bodies. They were being drug in by demons, through a portal to Earth. And... That's where we separated. I went to Earth while he stayed..."

You started to spin the metal necklace around in your hand without even realizing what you were doing. Your fingers slid over the engravings as you examined the logo closer. Doomguy watched your face as you flipped it over to look at the other tag. There, inscribed in it was a few letters, numbers, and a name; " _DM1-5.D22: FLYNN B.J. TAGGART_ "

He watched you read the writing, and when you opened your mouth and hummed out a " _Flynn B.J. Taggart_?" He felt his face flush.

You looked back up to him, not noticing the red tint to his face, "Is that your name?"

"Flynn, yeah..." He offered his hand, motioning for the tag back. You provided, as he eyed it over then inhaled, "Yeah... My name."

Your eyes locked as you repeated, "Flynn" making his stature suddenly stiffen. He nodded, smiling lightly.

"Flynn Taggart... huh?" You glanced back up at him, "Well, I'm _[Y/n],_ " You held out a hand, " _[Y/n] [M/n] [L/n]_."

His blush continued to spread as he clasped hands with yours, shaking it once again as he did the first time he greeted you, "[Y/n]..." He spoke, trying out the name, "[Y/n] [M/n] [L/n]." He called, making you smile, "It's nice... To meet you."

"You too, Flynn."

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You don't even remember falling asleep. But when you jolted awake in the middle of the night due to the ground rumbling, you were entangled in the arms of your pal.

The room only had the dim light from the window illuminating it, and you contemplated getting up to check what was going on.

The Slay— _Flynn_.

Flynn sat up like he wasn't even asleep, making you suddenly feel bare without the warmth of his arms around you. You rubbed your eyes as he got up and went over to the window, peeking out of it.

"Mmm, what is it?" You called over, your muscles were aching even though you just had been resting them. You got up and stood beside him, moving the curtains to look out into the rolling hills and distant cityscape.

"An... Airstrike." He looked over to you, "ARC ships... Hayden's probably up ta somethin'."

You bit your lip with a "What?" looking back out into the night. Then, your eyes traveled up to the stars, as you sucked in a breath.

It was just as pretty as up in the fortress.

You looked back over to Flynn, who hasn't looked away from you. When he noticed your attention back on him, he turned away to the bed and crawled back in, "C'mon, yer spot's gettin' cold."

With an obligatory huff, you crawled back in beside him and felt him curl around you, using his big arms as if they were shields protecting you from the outside. His chest hummed against your back, "Yeah, ever since I killed the first Hell priest he's been on my ass."

He was cut off by you slapping his bicep. His eyes shot open as he looked down at your surprised face.

"You killed a Hell Priest?" You questioned.

Flynn nodded his head, making you suddenly look down towards your feet, "When? How??" 

"Ehhh... Not too long ago? Just before I met you." He shrugged, you let out a breathy chuckle, Flynn seemed confused at the exasperation that you withheld.

"Which one?" You muttered, looking back over to see his confused face.

"Nilox." He muttered, "Why are you surprised?" Flynn inquired.

You snorted, "I dunno, I just..." You looked up to him, your eyes locking as you huried your face into his chest, "A hell priest. Argenti Royalty. You are a Sentinel."

"So?" He questioned.

"You..." You chose your next words carefully, "You're just like me." You whispered.

He blushed darkly as you got comfortable again, "Like you?"

"I hate those bastards." You spoke into the crook of his neck, "I'd kill 'em if I knew where they were."

You could feel the shit-eating smile forming on his face as you snuggled into his arms, "Hm." Flynn hummed.

Good to know you agreed with him. He felt his muscles relax as he curled into you as you clutched onto his chest.

"Yah know... yer a cuddler in your sleep." Flynn spoke.

"You watch me sleep?" You teased, making him nervously laugh.

You smiled at him, even though he probably couldn't see it. You held onto his arm, muttering a "Night, Flynn."

The mention of his name made him smile as he folded himself around you again, holding onto you a _little_ tighter than he intended on doing so, "G'night, [Y/n]."

_He's just like you..._

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	12. 12 | ORIGINATION : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and a flashback

[Vega](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618245367521263616/holy-shite-glowey-boi%C2%A0) and [Vega and reader smoochin'](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618193514294132736/i-cant-draw-kisses-but-yeet-here-you-go-some) by fandoomerthesequel

[Samuel Hayden](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618311674202619904/f4-and-b3-for-the-reader-if-you-feel-like-doing) by me

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Flynn's arms were wrapped tight around your smaller form. His chest was pressed up against your back and your head was resting atop his bicep he wedged between you and the pillow. He was curling into you hard, absentmindedly gripping onto you.

He had heard your breathing smooth out and become slow, so he knew you were asleep. It was just like when you fell asleep on him while you were on the couch;

You clung onto him like it was life or death, and when he slowly tried to remove himself from you, he ended up with you stuck to his back and spooning into him.

It was like wearing you like a backpack. He kind of liked it. But there was no way to get you off of him, so he just laid down defeated.

Now, however, the tables have turned; Even though you were holding onto the arm at your waist, he was the one curled around you. He kind of liked it better this way.

But, just like last time— _He couldn't sleep_.

His praetor suit supplied him with all the energy he could ever need. It absorbed raw argent energy from demons and dispersed it throughout his body, so sleep wasn't really something he required. Sure, he could sleep, but he didn't need to.

One of Flynn's fingers curled around your hair, God, this was weird, wasn't it? He's... totally watching you sleep. And curling your hair in his finger?

Okay, okay, he had to get to sleep. He was acting like a creep.

He nuzzled his face into the top of your head, squeezing his eyes shut to try and fall asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, you had rolled over and clutched to his chest. Small beams of light filtered through the window, making him squint and try and shield his eyes.

Flynn slowly looked down to your peaceful face, letting out an almost dreamy sigh. Slowly and painfully, he untwined himself with you and the covers, despite wanting to lie there forever.

He should probably go contact Vega. He walked over to his armor in the corner and pulled on his helmet, tapping the side a few times until the static crackled on.

A few minutes later, you were awoken to the sensation of someone's fingertips prodding at your face, you curled away from the touch, earning a chuckle as the person's hands grabbed at your face again.

They brushed the hair off your forehead and trailed their fingertips along the curve of your jaw, the touch lingered just momentarily before they began trying to properly coax you awake.

"Hey..." The person's deep and gravelly voice brushed against your ear. You could feel the heat of their breath on the nape of your neck, making you shiver and stretch to open your eyes.

When you did, Flynn was softly grinning down at you. He had already gotten out of bed and seemed to be awake for a while due to the lack of tiredness on his features. As you stretched to wake up, the casual contact stayed right put, his hands never left your neck or face as you awoke.

"Mornin'." His gruff voice echoed out, he tore himself from you and stood so you could sit up.

You ran your fingers through your hair to smooth it out, hopping out of bed and rolling your neck on your shoulders, making your bones crack.

"I talked to Vega." Flynn began, "There was no tracking device just malfunctioning servers, so we can head back."

With a smile you managed to find your voice, "That's good! We can get home then." You said without thinking, then caught the slip-up, "Uh, I mean... _Your_ Fortress, eh heh."

Flynn shook his head, "Eh, it's okay. You live there now so I guess it's yer fortress too." He elbowed you, playfully.

You felt yourself blush, then turned away from him with a smile, "Thanks." You replied, walking over to the window and peering out of it for a moment.

Still, you could feel his eyes on the back of your head. When you turned to glance back at him, his sudden appearance beside you made you jump.

He was glancing out far off into the horizon at the clouds of demons above the city. There are now more than there was yesterday.

"Uh, I guess I'll go put on my armor, then we can head out." You began towards the living room, and you heard his footsteps catch up with you after a few moments.

His strong fingers caught your arm, and when you looked back up to him, his broad cheekbones and chiseled features were dusted a light pink, "I... I wanna show ya somethin' 'fore we head back up to the Fortress since you um..." He looked back down to you, finding himself unable to keep eye contact with your cute face, "Wanted to learn 'bout Earth."

You found yourself smiling, "That sounds nice." You cooed, then turned back to the couch where the pile of clothes were to find them missing.

Huh, Flynn must have taken care of it and threw it into the Fortress real quick through a portal. You've seen him do that before, so you're almost sure that's what happened.

With a bit of a struggle, you managed to hoist your mech suit up onto its knees by the time Flynn had already put on his lower half.

A few shoves and grunts later, you had it almost standing, when The Slay— erm, Flynn's gauntlets slipped underneath your arms and helped you hold it up the rest of the way.

It was weird calling him Flynn with the armor on, because when he was wearing it, he was known as The Slayer.

It felt strange knowing who was underneath the helmet. With it on, he was this big mysterious man that no one ever spoke to or interacted with unless it was him ripping their skull off their measly body, he was shrouded in mystery and clouded by fear. Then, as soon as the helmet was off, he was a pretty genuine, caring... Sweet... _Handsome_... Guy that loved tiny animals, comic books, knew how to skateboard, play football, and the guitar.

"How'd ya get in this when I wasn't around, huh?" He joked, oh, his helmet was off.

"Eh-heh, I managed." You slammed your fist onto the chest compartment for it to open. Flynn watched, amused at your tiny rage, as you clamored up inside.

As you finished clicking your armor together, Flynn popped his helmet on at the same time as you, and then leant down and bopped his against yours. You felt your smile grow, as he stood straight up again and turned towards the door.

Your intercom crackled on within your speaker, "Greetings."

"Vega!" You chimed, happy to hear his voice.

"Yes, how are you?"

"I'm doing good," You called, "I missed you waking me up this morning."

There was a slight falter in his voice, along with a slow, raspy chuckle, " _A-Aha_ , I missed waking you up, _[Y/n]_." Hearing your own voice made you taken aback for a moment.

Vega caught on to the falter, "May I call you that?"

"Yeah— Course you can!" You didn't see why he shouldn't be able to call you your name?

"Excellent, it's a pleasure to properly meet you."

You smiled, and you could almost hear the grin in his voice as he ushered you off.

Flynn was standing there with his arms crossed, you could tell he was looking down at you with that signature smirk of his, as he made way towards the front door, instead of him opening it, though, a portal was blasted open which lead to a street.

He walked through and unclipped one of his many guns from his body, you followed his lead and did the same with yours. But the little town you were in seemed empty.

It was charming— Well, it would've been of half the buildings weren't burnt or destroyed— But it had a melancholy feel to it.

Flynn had lowered his gun and his usual sprint was slowed after running down a few streets and no demons charged out from the alleyways.

That gave you more time to look around, the town was small, and you could hear the faint sloshing of water somewhere far off.

It kinda looked like a town in one of those old western movies, but newer. It was one of those small beach cities that tourists would flock to. Also, it looked like it was getting dark? Even though you had just woken up?

Your radio crackled on, "C'mon, hurry, I don't want'cha ta miss it." Flynn was looking back towards you, you could see his eyes under his visor.

"Why's it getting dark? Didn't we just wake up?" You questioned, jogging after him as he took a few turns here and there.

"Different side of the planet." He called back as if it was nothing, making you suddenly surprised.

A few minutes if walking later, and you suddenly saw a large open concrete parking lot. At the end of the parking lot was a broken-down sign that said " _Amusement Park"_ in big whacky lettering. Behind the sign was a beaten-down theme park.

Besides you, Flynn clapped a hand on your back and echoed out a "Let's go."

You are a little hesitant as he began forward, you'd only ever seen an amusement park in the movie Zombie Land when they were trapped in the tower. That made you shiver.

Following after the big doof, you weaved your way in between dilapidated metal skeletons of rides, finally, he stopped at one of the biggest contraptions yet, right on the edge of the water.

"Fuck." He muttered, "There ain't no way this thing's gonna power up without drawing attention." Flynn turned back to you.

You were too busy staring up at the monstrous building's height, "What... What _is_ that?"

"It's a Ferris wheel." He shrugged, the smile was evident in his voice, "I used to come here as a kid. I'm surprised it's still standing." He shook the metal bar beside him, then his eye caught something. Pegs sticking out the side of one of the beams leading to the top.

He turned and began hoisting himself up them, making you gulp. Oh, he wanted you to go _up there?_

Yeah, sure, okay.

Slowly, you followed up after him, daring not to look down. You felt your fingers tighten the higher you went up and your boots slip multiple times. You aren't afraid of heights but holy shit, please, please don't let you die.

Once you made it to the very top, Flynn then hopped up into one of the carts hanging off of the track, offering you a hand to step inside as well.

You jumped in, hoping that the rusted cogs wouldn't snap due to the weight of both your mech. He sat down on one of the seats in the ride, and pat the spot next to him.

You were glad to sit, mostly due to the fact your legs were wobbling from the altitude. As you sat, you suddenly gasped, realizing why he had brought you here.

The sun was setting over the water's horizon, shading the sky in bountiful shades of pink and orange. Your red visor was obscuring your view, slowly, your fingers came up to unlatch your helmet and pull it off of you.

As your eyes focused on the scenery, Flynn found his eyes focused on your facial expressions. The pure, innocent, awe-stricken shine to your eyes was something he'd never known he missed to see. Ever since the pure destruction of the Earth and battling demons for who knows long, child-like gullibility like yours was a breath of fresh air for him.

He pulled off his helmet as well, letting the ocean breeze run through his matted hair. He slipped an arm around your neck, making sure his bicep was properly pillowing your head, getting that skin on skin contact.

Ever since he was a kid, he'd wanted to take someone special up to the top of this ferris wheel and have a moment with them.

Even if this is definitely _not_ how he imagined it— With the whole Earth decaying, and he's in a cyber suit, and you've never lived on Earth before— It still brought a smile to his face.

Well, _you_...

You brought a smile to his features.

"How... How'd you know about this?" You questioned, breaking the silence.

"I lived in this town as a kid." Flynn recalled, looking over to your features, which were glowing in the soft lighting from the sunset, "You said you wanted to know more 'bout Earth... 'N me."

You nodded, accidentally locking eyes with him. His facial features were being outlined by the sharp shadows cast by the glare of the sun in the water, "Yeah. I guess I did say that."

"Well... Here we are." He tore his eyes away from you, breathing in the ocean air, "This is the last happy thing I remember about this damn planet."

You gave a sorrowful chuckle, which made him turn back to you with a flirtatious smile, "Hey, 'least _one_ good thing came outta this invasion," He brought one of his knuckles up and brushed the metal on his hand against your cheek, "I got t' meet you."

You allowed the motion to carry your head against his shoulder and lean on him, just humming at the surrealism the whole moment carried.

Flynn disrupted the sound of the water sloshing and far-off cries of birds as he shifted in his armor to get a better hold around your body, making sure to keep the minuscule skin on skin contact with his bicep on your neck, "Whatta 'bout you?"

"Hm?" With a turn of your head, you met his blue eyes once more, "What _about_ me?"

"You didn't grow up on Earth, yeah? But'chya said you been down here."

"Oh," You tore your gaze away from his face as he continued, "Where'd ya grow up?"

". . ."

The pause in your voice hung in the air, "I... I don't remember," You admit, "The last thing I can really remember is... Being with Samuel as one of his Elite UAC Guards before everything split up..."

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"[L/n]." You were roughly shook awake by a loud voice within your blood-red helmet.

You startled, straightening yourself from your slumped over position on the wall. You'd been up all damn night, standing guard outside the Argent Storage Facility you were stationed at for the night. You were so fucking tired, endless work hours, and no personal time.

The owner of the voice was one of the scientists working at the time, Dr. Hayden. Slowly, you regained your composure, "Doc?"

"I'd like to see you in my office, please."

You sighed through the slit in your helmet, that never meant good, "Okay."

With a certain hesitance to your step, you began making your way out of the secluded corridor and out to the main hallways. Scientists and lower guards stepped out of your way with fear, despite your sluggish tendencies and tired movements.

A few twists and turns later, you were in an elevator going to the top of the facility, waiting ever so patiently as you were sure you were going to get your head gnawed off by the robot you worked for.

As the elevator slid open, the hallway leading up to Hayden's door was ominously looming overhead. You walked up to the entrance, but it slid open without you even knocking.

You could see the tall robotic form standing in the corner with his arms crossed behind him, gazing out of the window. You walked into the room and cleared your throat lightly, "Hayden?"

He turned his head lightly, then began walking over to his desk, motioning his hand to the other side of the table and towards a chair.

When you sat down, you found your armor to suddenly be indescribably hot and your posture became stiff. Samuel crossed his arms against the tabletop, and the blue slit in down his face was focused on your bright red helmet.

"Do you know why you're in here?" He questioned, his voice was barren from any sorts of emotion, and it was even more difficult to tell his feelings due to the lack of features on his face.

"I... I have an idea." You stumbled.

"Take off your helmet."

With a moment of contemplation, you obliged. Your fingers unclasped your helmet as you felt your hair fall, but your eyes remained screwed shut.

"You are the most superior Elite guard I have, you know." You opened your eyes to meet his robotic face.

"Thank you." You spoke.

The slit in his face began glowing brighter as he relaxed back into his chair, "Well, may we cut to the chase?"

Oh boy, here it comes, "Sure, Doc."

"Your persistence in denying all of my commander's requests for assistance have been very, very..." The cyborg sought after a word, "Infuriating." He drug out the last synonym of his word to try and scare you with his voice.

He started, " _However_..."

The tone of his voice suddenly made you raise a brow.

"I'm not angry with you. I'm more... Intrigued than anything." Samuel hummed, "You are the only one to disobey orders, to go against your superiors. They've informed me of your uncooperation, you know."

"They told me to leave people behind, I wasn't going to just—" 

Samuel raised his hand, cutting you off.

He already knew, he put you on the resistance force to see what'd you do, how you'd handle humans.

"There's no need. I have spoken to them already and have deemed they were in the wrong." Hayden turned to the screen embedded into the tabletop, you could still feel him eyeing you though, "You are no longer going to be on their teams. It seems they put you up to... Unreasonable tasks for someone with your... Intelligence and skill."

You felt yourself flush at the compliment, but then realized he was referring to how you literally fell asleep you were so bored guarding the Argent storage.

"I'm going to make you one of my personal Elite Guards,"

Your eyes widened, you sat up, "Huh?"

"I have a special task for you as your first mission."

"What's that?" You inquired.

Hayden suddenly sat down, looking down to you, "I'd like to keep this... Between us." He sat a hand on the table.

You squinted, "What?"

"I need you to keep an eye on one of my colleagues for me... _Olivia Pierce_."

You raised a brow, "Why are you trusting me with this?"

"You enjoy exposing corruption, do you not? Doing what is right??" Samuel questioned.

Ah, this was a test of character now, was it? "I do."

Little did you know, this is already one of many tests he has ran on you, "Then I can trust you with this to do what is right."

You bit your lip, thinking for a moment, before nodding, "Alright, ro-boy. I'm in." You held a hand out.

Hayden chuckled, clasping his hand with yours, shaking it, "A pleasure to hear."

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"You ready to head back home?" Flynn's voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

You nodded, "Yeah."

The sky had gotten dark a while ago and the two of you sat well past the sunset, just talking about miscellaneous topics. You had leant far into Flynn's embrace well through the conversations, and when he stood you suddenly felt cold despite your armor heating you up.

He grabbed ahold of your hand and hoisted you up, the Ferris wheel basket swung wildly, making you grasp ahold of him tight.

You heard his chuckle against the side of your head as he held you close, then a portal was ripped open below. The two of you clamored through, and when you made it to the other side, Vega was standing on the other side.

"Vega!" You smiled, he walked up to you and cupped your hands in his palms, "Are you alright? Have you sustained any injuries?" Vega tilted your head, inspecting you all over.

"I'm fine!" You cried.

Flynn was now in-between you and Vega, "What about meee!" He teased, "Don't I get any check-ups?"

Vega, in a flat voice, said only "No." Which made you throw your head back and snort.

These two are gonna be the death of you.

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	13. 13 | AFFILIATION : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You want to help Flynn do what's right

[Readers armor](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618971884220022784/uhhhhhghghh-readers-finalized-new-armor-design-n) and [Doomguy doodles](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/619236382499553280/click-for-better-quality-doomguy-doodles) by me

[Doomguy!](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/618924963896950784/ive-never-submitted-my-artwork-before-but-here-it) by sleepylofiokami

[Reader holding up a broken Samuel Hayden](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/619510587539554304/fanart-by-firdian647-on-wattpad-reader-holding) by firdian647

[Doomguy 😳](http://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/619644328572256256/i-drew-doomguy-for-the-forst-time) by fandoomerthesequel

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It's been a few days since your last mission with Flynn, two weeks to be exact. Sleeping alone recently has felt a little... Cold, to say the least.

You'd spent the recent days staring up at the stars in the observation deck, trying to identify a few constellations using a book Vega had shown you.

Speaking of the AI, he'd been messing around in UAC and ARC files and been pretty busy. Outside of doing that, he's been trying to spend as much time as he could with you. But...

It still didn't seem like enough.

Flynn had been, well, just being his usual self; you saw him at meals and in passing in the hallway, but he'd been in his quarters a lot lately.

Vega said he was doing research? When you tried pressing him, all he said was he was looking into files, too. 

You dunno, it's not your business, you guess.

But, the past few days had allowed you to be alone with your thoughts. The news that Valen is still alive honestly kind of shook you to your core. You didn't feel like pressing Flynn on it, though, because his answers were sometimes vague and honestly didn't help soothe your racing mind.

Speaking of Flynn... He had been hunting for the next Hell Priest. You were worried about him going, honestly. 

And if he _was_ going to go, you wanted to go with him, which required you to ask him about it.

Hmmm but you really don't want to have this conversation now... But time was running out the closer and closer he got.

You found yourself standing, turning to the exit of the observation deck to make your way to Flynn's room. You were a little anxious, honestly, you'd never been in there before.

You walked up to the door and gingerly knocked.

There was a shuffling on the other side, before it slid open, revealing his tired-looking face, eyes red from staring at a computer screen. He was wearing a black tank top and grey sweats, and his shoulders were slumped considerably.

"H-Hey," You called softly, looking up to him.

He leant against the door frame, his broad shoulders blocking your view, "What's up, [N/n]?"

You rolled your eyes at the nickname, but rubbed your arm, suddenly feeling very timid under his gaze. He noticed your anxious stance, eyeing you.

"I uhm..." You opened your mouth again to finish your sentence, but he cut you off:

"What? You had a nightmare 'r somethin?" He teased, "Wanna sleep n 'ere with me?"

Wait, was it really that late? Is that why he looked so tired?

Well— You kind of wanted to feel his warmth again ever since you two cuddled in the cabin. Even with your new clothes, hoodies, sweatpants, and all, it was still cold; therefore it was kind of hard to decline his offer.

The look on your face probably called you out, since he stepped out of the way and offered you entry.

With one quick glance around, it was apparent this guy was way more of a nerd than you would have thought:

Action figures, comic books, electric guitars, and of course, some guns and really old armor were lining the walls.

What stood out most to you was the 3 monitors he had and beefy PC. There was a bed in the corner with a messy comforter that was sliding off the mattress, however, it still looked inviting.

Before you could look closer, he walked over to his PC and flicked it off, the three monitors turned black as he walked back over towards the door and flicked the light switch, engulfing the room in pitch-black darkness.

You felt hands on your shoulders guiding you off to the corner where the bed was, and soon you felt the mattress pressing against your shins. Hesitantly, you crawled into bed and you felt the bed dip down beside you. Your back was pressed against the wall and chest against Flynn's. His chin was atop your head and his hand was stroking your hair.

Seems like he was missing you too.

The bed smelt like him which was nice, and despite him being always oddly cold, he still warmed you up as soon as he touched you. You found your arms wrapping around his neck as best as you could manage, and you felt a content sigh against your forehead.

You sure were glad the lights were off, you would've been blushing like mad.

After a few moments, you finally found your voice, echoing out a "Flynn?" in the silent room's air.

His chest hummed against yours as he grunted out a response.

"Uhm..." You began stuttering again, shit, "I was just wondering... If um..."

Your grip around his neck tightened; he knew something was wrong, "Are you alright?"

You buried your face into his chest, inhaling sharply, "Are... Are you going to go kill the hell priests?"

Flynn's gruff voice sounded over the top of you in contemplation. One of his hands traveled up to hold the back of your neck and rub his thumb over your sensitive skin. You leant into his touch, well, as best you could.

He nodded, "I hav'ta."

You found yourself gripping onto him a little tighter, "Take me with you." You whispered, yet he still heard it since he shifted and looked down to you, "[Y/n]..." He began, "You know I can't do that."

You found your grip tightening around him, "You'll get hurt."

"And if I bring you, you'll get hurt too." He grumbled.

With a huff, you pushed off of his chest, your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so you could see his face in the darkness, " _Flynn_." You pleaded, "You... I'm fighting for the same thing— The same people— That you are."

You watched as his face scrunched up, not in retaliation but rather consideration. He let out a low sigh, shuffling so he could sit up a little and sit over you lying on your back on the bed. His elbow was right beside your head on the pillow, proping him up so he could look down on you.

His face was stern, and his eyes were steady yet his brows stayed crinkled together. The soft blue glowing light of the fortress highlighted the hard grooves in his chiseled features.

You'd be swooning if you weren't at a disagreement. You opened your mouth to say something in protest, but the cold hand on your cheek quieted you down, "Look, as much as I don't wanna do this neither, I gotta. I don't want to drag you into it though, you're too..." He looked over your face for a moment, trying to find the right words, "Too... Good to me."

"Drag me into this?" You laughed, "I was drug into this the moment I was born into Argenti blood! These are my people I'm fighting for, too—"

Flynn's eyes narrowed, his hand slid down to your shoulder and squeezed it, "You _can't_ come with me."

However, you weren't having it, "Okay, then, sounds good. I'll go on my own, you can stay here since we can't go together."

He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a sour chuckle, "Yer persistent aren't ya?"

"You act like I can't fight. I've been a Sentinel my whole life for crying out loud, and I was Samuel Hayden's personal fucking Elite Guard in the Pre-ARC!"

His eyes lingered away from your face, but as you grabbed ahold of his bicep, they snapped back onto you, "Give me a chance, Flynn... Please?"

There was silence for a moment, before he sighed, knocking his forehead against your shoulder and laying back down, "Fine." He caved.

You smiled wide, rolling over so you could grab ahold of the front of his shirt, "R-Really?!"

"Mhm," Flynn looked down to the ecstatic look on your face, he couldn't help but smile as well, "But—" He brought a finger up, pressing it against your nose, "If you get hurt _at all_ , I'm sending you _straight_ back to Vega, yah hear me?"

With a giggle and half-lidded smile (that put butterflies into Flynn's stomach) you nodded, "Okay _mom_ , sounds good."

Flynn grabbed around you and scooted closer so adequate cuddling could take place. In reality, you didn't mind at all besides that the metal wall against your back was kinda cold. But, when he felt you shiver he threw the blankets over you both, pulling you near.

Finally, you could sleep easily in his arms with a big dumb smile on your face.

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When you woke up, it was because you were cold. The realization soon hit you that Flynn had gotten up, the light was on but dimmed, and there was shuffling in the corner.

The shuffling in the corner stopped as you peeled your eyes open, Flynn was standing over at his wardrobe, wet hair matted down to his forehead, "Oh, yer up."

"Yeah." You sat up and rubbed your eyes, precariously trying to dart your vision around his muscles.

Your efforts failed, and in a moments notice you found yourself blinking hard at his abs, he took the opportunity to place a hand on his hip, giving you a shit-eating smile, "Wanna take a picture? It'll last longer."

"Oh, shut up." You groaned, turning away from him.

You heard him move closer, and now he was sitting beside you on the bed, "I can pose if yah want. Should I flex?"

With a glare, you glanced over to him, "Why are you up so early, anyway?"

"Ah, I... _We_ gotta go kill the Priest, Vega found 'em on the Locator."

"Really?" You shuffled under the covers and tore them away from yourself, a too little excited, you weren't expecting him to be so compliant.

"Yeah, c'mon." He gave you a light nudge on the shoulder as he stood, urging you to do the same, "We gotta move 'fore he does."

You stood as well, rolling your neck atop your shoulders and stretching. Flynn walked back over to his wardrobe and continued dressing as you made you way over to the door, slipping out of his room to go grab some clothes and get changed in the bathroom.

Thank God those damn clothes fit you, how convenient. Unfortunately, though, you don't have a place to put them so they're kind of just in the corner of the living room. But uhm, let's not talk about that.

With a tug, you pulled off your hoodie and sweats, slipping into some yoga pants because you were assuming you were going to get in your armor soon.

As you walked out of the bathroom, you bumped your forehead right into something hard, stumbling backward a little. Two steady hands caught your shoulders, and you sheepishly looked up to Vega's robotic face.

"Apologies." He worriedly chimed, letting you balance yourself.

"No, it's okay!" You snickered, rubbing your forehead, "My fault."

Vega released you, seeing you were fine, but you could still feel him looking over you, "Are you..." He began, but seemed to hesitate, "Are you positive you want to do this?"

Vega was genuinely concerned about this whole mission since he overheard you ask Flynn about it last night. His job was to check up on people's well beings, so, naturally, he wanted to make sure you wanted to go through with this. There is a high potential that this mission would result in you being injured, that's the last thing he wants for someone like you.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Vega." You smiled sweetly at him, "I'll be fine, I promise."

Vega released you, he sure hoped you were right, "Stay safe" He pressed as you nodded again, giving him a big hug— Or, to the best of your ability. His bulky robot form was hard to wrap around. After the embrace, you moved past him in the hallway to run up the stairs after Flynn.

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Heavily armored footsteps echoed down the corridor of the empty Sentinel hall, Ba'al wasn't having any of this shit, he was gonna go see Khan Maykr and get this answer straight, there can't be another Sentinel alive...

As he entered the empty main room, he knelt onto one knee, seeing the hologram of Khan appear before him.

"Berituk." She spoke, " _Xevar sur tnur?_ "

He looked up to her face as he questioned her, "Who is the third Sentinel."

Her face distorted and seemed disgusted for a moment before leaning down to look at him closer, "The third one? There isn't a third."

" _Ruk_ , there is. The Betrayer said they're working with The Slayer. We made a deal. As long as I didn't hurt them he would tell me everything I needed to know, but he doesn't know much, besides the fact that your Deags were the one that took them."

"Do you question my judgment, _kavis?_ " Khan Maykr snapped, "The Deags taking it would be impossible, I was never notified. And they know not to go against me... Unlike _you_."

"They are cowards." Ba'al stood, a bold move, "Someone has to set things right."

The Maykr squinted, Ba'al was in charge of all the Marauders on D'nur. He wouldn't go with any of her plans, unlike how all the others willingly submit.

He was always deceiving her, making sure she couldn't get to what she wanted.

However, despite his misconduct, she kept him alive and in charge.

He was one of the only marauders with free will, if not the only one.

Ever since he was submit to the divinity machine, his sheer willpower and spite led him to have his own free thoughts.

Ba'al found himself stomping his boot, " _It?_ Is that all you think my people are— _Its?_ "

Khan opened her mouth, but was cut off as Ba'al turned on his heel, leaving the room, "I'll just ask the Priests myself, _sur avikrad n'ar_."

The Maykr belted out a laugh, "You think you can find them? They're in hiding like the useless Imps they are."

Ba'al grit his teeth behind his mask, "I'll make it work. After all—" He turned his head to look back at Khan Maykr, "—I'm the most powerful demon you got, it'd be a shame to lose me, Maykr."

And with that, Ba'al continued on walking, disappearing in a cloud of red hellfire.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "Why are you here?"
> 
> "Yes,"
> 
> "Underling"
> 
> "You appal me."


	14. 14 | AFFILIATION : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to aid Flynn in killing Deag Ranak but... Ba'al has other ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of pov switches... whoops, couldn't get the different sides of the story without it tho

[the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/620549741689847808/fanart-of-the-reader-from) by ilikedrawingbutikindofsuckatit

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"Ranak." Ba'al's angry voice called, squinting at the demon beside him encapsulated in some electronic hold.

The Hell Priest stopped his rambling on about The Slayer, turning to the Sentinel commander in front of him, "Berituk?"

He didn't come all the way down to Earth's pole to get his ear talked off, he needed answers, "Khan Maykr told me of a third Sentinel." Well, that wasn't all that true, but if he heard that it came from the Maykr, the Deag is sure to comply with questioning.

"A-Ah." The Priest cleared his withering throat, "That one, yes..." Ranak turned to look at the looming demon, "That one's a nuisance."

" _A nuisance_?" Berituk took another step forward, but the question caught in his throat at the sight of the demon before him. As he looked closer, he realized all the wires and mech attached to its decaying body.

"Yes, they're living proof. Living proof the Maykrs can be... Can be _disobeyed_... _Defied_." The old man struggled, he was getting weaker with the other hell priest gone, "We tried... Tried to get rid of it— They come back. Every time."

"This time..." The man snarled, "With The Slayer."

Ba'al looked over to the cyborg demon before him, "They're following the usurper...?" He grit his fangs together behind his mask.

Confidentially, they heard the automated voice of the tram system boot-up, signaling that it was headed this way.

" _Reuk tnur_." Ranak whispered, "You intend on taking them on?"

Ba'al looked over to the Deag, then nodded.

"You must wait after my guardians take care of him, then attack him when he is weak, _latia n gark'ur_."

Berituk reluctantly agreed, watching as the robotic arms in front of him started working on the mechanical demon. What the hell type of shit sick is this?

He knew Ranak was up to some shit with the humans but... But _this?_

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"Damn!" You rubbed your hands together, it was fucking cold here, even despite wearing your bulky hell expedition armor.

Flynn continued walking down the long stretch of bridge without looking back at you.

Sometimes he does this during missions; he gets into his " _battle mode_ "— Vega nicknamed it— Where his shoulders are held high, mouth is zipped shut, and his footsteps are heavy and determined.

It was um... Kind of attractive... Anyways—

"C'mon." He hopped up into a tram, and you scrambled in after him, squinting at the sudden blast of red light through your visor. The train jerked to life, making both you and your armored companion stumble.

You grabbed ahold of your gun, jiggling it out of your holster and checking how many charged shots you had. Seems like Flynn was doing the same with his guns, then shoved something into your hands.

You looked down to the hunk of metal he was offering; a chainsaw, "Yah fight close up, this might help."

"Thanks." You grasped it, and when he let go you huffed, oh boy this was heavy, even with your suit!

He went back to checking his armor, and then he walked behind you and pat a hand on your shoulder. Just small reassurance that he's got your back, that's all. You leant over and knocked your helmet against his, you got his back, too.

Good thing, too, the tram suddenly started to shake, and before you knew it, demons were pouring in from the seams in the walls.

It's been a little while since you've been at it, so Flynn was much quicker and took care of the bigger ones way easier than you could have ever dreamt of doing. Which was okay, it gave you time to work on figuring out how to handle the huge chainsaw he gave you.

The tram started shaking more and more with all the demons, from within your helmet Flynn urged you forward, "We gotta get to tha front."

Without hesitance, you followed after him and began making your way to the first cart on the rail. You watched as he straight up punched apart the latch, making the lattermost platforms start disconnecting, leaving the demons behind.

Flynn turned to you, gazing over your armor to see if any injury was sustained, after he deemed you untouched, his stern gaze reappeared as he remembered what he was here to do. You bit your lip, he was usually more talkative.

As the trolly came to a halt, Flynn turned and jumped up onto a platform above your head. He helped you up, demons started barraging you with bullets within seconds, and the two of you started battling them with the same fury they were dishing out.

After some explosions here and there, Flynn turned and abruptly vaulted up a wall. You squinted, he knows damn well you can't do that in your armor.

You looked around for another way up, then sighed, looks like you got no choice. You took a running start at it, jumping up and grabbing ahold of the nooks in the wall. With way too much effort, you made it up the wall to have more bullets whizz by you.

Flynn was standing off to the side, fiddling with some little drone thing. You shot at the demon assaulting you, and as its head exploded, Flynn's gauntlet grabbed ahold of your gun.

He started to dismantle it without a word, attaching some new apparatus to the top and clicking on the part he ripped off from your blaster to his barrel, "Explosion shot, give 'er a try."

You squinted down at your gun, fiddling with it a little bit before finding the activator switch. Two metal prongs popped out of the side and started to glow a bright red, crackling until a ball of plasma formed in-between them. When you released the trigger, the prongs released as well, shooting the supercharged shot into the distance.

Your companion, The Doom Slayer himself, smiled sweetly at you, slapping a hand a little _lower_ than your back. Even though there were two layers of metal between the actual contact, it gave you a cold hard sting.

" _Hey!_ " You cried, holding your butt, he shot you a wink through his visor in response.

He started hopping around the room you were in pretty fast, you squinted at his actions, and Vega had told you he was looking for secrets... Whatever that meant. Oh well.

You followed his spur of movements, and eventually, the two of you were greeted by a large silver door. You made your way into the next room as the entrance shifted open, and you were greeted with another barrack of demons.

This horde seemed bigger than the others, however, and stronger. Flynn was taking them out with mere punches to the face while you were taking your time to fuck with your new firearms.

Flynn seemed to let you go at most of the demons, he kind of stood back and let you have them. Secretly, he was kind of admiring you. He recognized most of your battle tactics from his training in the Sentinels, but some of the stunts you were pulling off were from outside experiences.

And the way you bent and swerved out of the way of oncoming attacks and bullets, you were so flexible. Even with the armor on he could tell how agile you were...

He wonders... What kind of positions he could get you into— "Watch out, pervert." Vega called within his helmet as a Pinky rammed headfirst into his back.

Was he standing still and staring at you again? Whoops.

"Hey, I ain't no pervert," Flynn grumbled back as he swiveled around the demon to shoot its weak spot.

"Sure, tell that to your sudden spike in testosterone levels." Vega cackled back, making Flynn's cheeks turn a vibrant pink.

You had finished off the last of the demons when The Slayer caught your arm, guiding you to the next room with a curt grunt of embarrassment.

A 15-foot hologram of the second Hell Priest, Deag Ranak, made you jump as Flynn's grip on your arm tightened for a moment.

"It was not easy finding an opponent worthy of The Slayer but I think you will be impressed." He grinned, slamming his staff to the ground, "And I see you have an accomplice... How intriguing. I think my friend here has a word or two to say to them."

Flynn looked over to you as the figure disappeared, this isn't good. You could see the hesitance in his eyes. You bumped your helmet to his again in a calming manner and broke free of his hold, beginning to walk again, but, he caught you.

"[Y/n]."

You looked back at him, "Yeah?"

Slowly, his grip faltered as you turned to face him fully, "You... I don't wantcha to get hurt."

You smiled, "I won't, don't worr–"

His gauntlets grabbed your shoulders, pulling you forward as he took another step, "Listen," He began, catching you off guard, "This... It's gonna be hard."

"And that's okay." You tried to reassure once more, you could tell from the glint in his eyes he wasn't telling you something.

"Ranak said someone is waiting for yah up there."

"He said there's someone for you, too."

Flynn groaned, "That's beside the point–" He brought his hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, but realizing he had a helmet on, the action got him nowhere, "You... Yah realize that by doing this... Joining me... Yer gonna get hunted by these... These _things_ for the rest of yer life."

Your hand reached up to grab ahold of his on your shoulder, "Flynn..."

You were going to say something else, but, to him, hearing his name from your mouth was all he needed since he suddenly nodded and took ahold of his shotgun again, stepping forward towards the two doors that were in front of you.

Okay... here we go. You took a deep breath and followed up after him. Inside the room was a large see-through chamber, within the glass tube was a demon decked out with mechanical battle armor, its head was lolled to the side and giant arms came down to retrieve it from the tube.

You and Flynn shared a look, this... Isn't good.

A few more demon hordes later, you finally made it to a big arena-like room where the demon you saw earlier was in the center, held up by huge robotic cylinders. Ranak's voice began taunting The Doom Slayer again as it came apart, releasing the robo demon.

As the demon started charging up, it seemed to be hyper-focused on your companion and didn't even move to attack you.

That gave you some advantages to shoot him from behind. And soon, the first one had fallen, its metal parts thunked against the ground, spurting oil and blood all over your legs. Black smoke from its engines soon filled the air, you're sure glad you had a helmet on to filter it.

Flynn gave you a high-five as the next one was dropped down onto the battleground. The two of you got ready to fight.

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Ranak was sweating, " _Delek... N beval._ "

Ba'al-Berituk stood beside him, crossing his arms, "I told you. Two of them against one isn't going to work. You have to drop more at once."

" _Ruk!_ " He slammed his staff against the ground, "My guardians will surpass them!"

Ba'al squinted at the stubborn Priest, "Have it your way. But if they continue advancing, I'll have you know I will take action into my own hands."

The Deag laughed, "You think _you_ are stronger than my Doom Hunters?" With a snarky huff, he turned away, "Pathetic."

The Sentinel squinted, chuckling sourly, "The only pathetic thing will be your decapitated head when The Slayer rips it off of your measly body."

Ranak turned around quickly to rebuttal but was only met with the red smog of a portal. He gasped, looking down at the battlefield to see the end of the portal forming behind the Slayer.

Ba'al scanned the battlefield, taking sight of the 3rd Sentinel. They were wearing UAC armor...?

The Marauder grit his teeth, Earth humans.

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The second guardian was almost down, only one more shot would take it down. You suddenly felt a slam in the back of your head, making you stumble forward and lose your footing.

Thankfully, you didn't fall, you spun around to meet the blaring red battle-axe that was swinging at your head.

Woah, you've never seen a demon like this before, shit. He looked like he had it out for you, too, swinging and shooting with the intent to harm. You looked over to Flynn to check and see if he was doing okay, but the Marauder had different ideas.

He summoned his shield and charged at you, butting you into a portal and a separate room. Fuck.

"Now that I've gotten you alone." He began, starting to circle you, dragging his double-ended axe against the ground.

Your finger itched on the trigger, what could this demon want with you?

"You're a Sentinel." He stopped in his tracks, prompting you to stop as well, mostly because you were caught off guard with his knowledge.

"You and me–" He motioned to himself and to you with his free hand, "–Are one and the same."

He watched as your posture completely changed, your gun was lowered and your rigid shoulders became lax. The Marauder took a step forward, resulting in you taking one back, Vega piqued up in your helmet, "Don't fall for any of his tricks. Are you alright?"

"I'm good, Vega." You muttered back, the demon tried advancing on you again, you raised your gun back up, making the Marauder halt.

"Why are you following in The Slayer's lead? You've left us... _Betrayed_ us." He snarled.

You raised an eyebrow, what... What's he talking about?

You were off guard again, stupid mistake. His shoulder was suddenly against your chest, making you fall back as his axe caught your ankle.

The demon swung with a strong fist, but you rolled out of the way, his knuckles hit the concrete hard.

There was a sudden restraint on your head, his heel.

"Continue down this path and you will soon learn what it's like being up against me and my army." He ground his foot into your visor, you could feel your helmet bending.

Your gun was just out of reach beside you on the floor, your fingertips brushed up against it, but you couldn't grasp ahold of it.

The Marauder saw your attempts, and kicked it away, chuckling darkly as he put more weight on your head, "Maybe then, you will think about joining me. I see you've visited Earth, got yourself accommodated with the robot."

He was talking about your armor... He was going to destroy it.

The visor shattered, you screwed your eyes shut as glass fell around your head and your helmet bent inwards due to the force of his heel.

Your hands reached up and grasped around his ankle, trying to pull him off and make him stumble. He stayed put, however, and you did the only thing you could think of:

Your finger grazed over the latch on your hip attached to the chainsaw. God fucking damn it! Why did you close the hook?!

You struggled to rip it off of your hip, the demon saw this action and grabbed ahold of your arm, pinning it above your head.

Suddenly, his foot was off of your face and you were being lifted up by your armpits. Without the obscured vision of your visor, you could properly see his cocky grin behind his mask.

Said grin began to falter at the sight of your frightened eyes...

He...

He _recognized_ those [e/c] eyes.

His falter gave you an invitation to grab his neck and throw the top of your head at his face, headbutting him. It was kind of a stupid move, considering his metal mask and horns, but he seemed to get hurt regardless.

He threw you down again, beginning to rip at your chestplate. You suddenly cried out as he ripped it straight off of you, exposing your torso in your tank top.

His fingers faltered at the sight of a [s/c] female's chest, but he continued ripping until your arms were freed as well. Without the main wiring within the torso, you couldn't control your suit. The mech anchoring your legs down was basically just heavy metallic weights.

His hands were at your neck, the metal armor hot to the touch, his skin a tad bit cooler, but still warm.

God, you felt... helpless. You couldn't even stand up to defend yourself now.

The demon's fingers didn't linger on your neck for too long though, he ripped off your smashed helmet then threw it aside to the pile of discarded metal shrapnel that was once your mech armor, leaving your top half completely unprotected.

The Marauder's eyes widened, they were focused on your face for far longer than you expected, and his hands started to shake around his axe that he was holding up in the air.

He couldn't go through with the swing...

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Flynn heaved, taking on these Doom Hunters by himself was no shit.

Wait... By himself?

"Flynn. I've lost connection with [Y/n]." Vega sounded panicked despite his usual calm demeanor, "Her armor has been destroyed."

Flynn felt his shoulders tense up– 

_Fuck_ , he shouldn't have brought you–

Now you're going to get hurt...

What if you already were hurt?

Shit, he's never going to let himself live it down.

Besides worry, he felt anger bubbling up within him; whatever demon was trying to hurt you was going to get their ass handed to them...

Literally, he was going to rip off their legs and hand it to them so they can die holding onto their own cheeks.

Flynn suddenly growled out a " _Take me to her._ "

He felt his teeth grit together, his hands tightened around the grip of his gun, and it almost bent before he stopped himself.

A portal opened, and Flynn barreled through without even thinking. As soon as his eyes caught sight of the same annoying ass Marauder that's been stalking him above your mangled armor, he blasted off his shotgun.

The Marauder swung around, dropping the swing of his axe and scrambling to get off the top of you. His shield was up within a second, and a poof of red smoke encapsulated the room.

The bastard ran away... 

_Again_.

As the smoke cleared, Flynn looked down to your bloodied face, dropping his gun and rushing over. You had started to try to slip yourself out of the remaining pieces of armor, but you were suddenly lifted by his strong arms.

"F-Flynn!" You gasped as he held your waist, trying to steady the long metal legs you were still stuck in.

He had a stern and cold gaze behind his visor, however, making your gratefulness get caught within your throat.

Is he... Mad at you?

You saw his mouth move within his helmet, and a blue glow filled the room. He called for a portal.

You would've protested if not for the fact he already shoved you through, causing you to stumble. You hit the fortress floor, and soon Vega's robotic hands were working you out of your armor.

Shit... You fucked up.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "He's here."
> 
> "it's genius."
> 
> "This... Is not good."
> 
> "No!" 


	15. 15 | AFFILIATION : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vega patches you up, Ba'al goes to confront Samuel Hayden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLLYYYYY SAMMY BOYYYEEE

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"You have head trauma, probably from when the Marauder either broke your helmet or threw you down," Vega concluded as he wiped the blood off of your nose.

Turns out, the pressure from his boot made your nose bleed, and when he threw you down you busted the back of your head open on the concrete. Vega had patched you up so far, and surprisingly he couldn't find any other injuries.

But now your armor was wrecked... Again, so looks like you couldn't help Flynn anymore. _If_ he was even going to let you help him, he seemed... Angry.

You found yourself speaking before you could stop yourself, "Vega?" You called.

"Hm?" He responded, not taking his attention away from tending to you.

"Do you think Flynn is mad at me?"

Vega's work ethic suddenly halted, as he turned to gaze at you, "Negative."

"But... The way he looked at me and threw me into the portal... He... He wouldn't–" You rubbed your arm, "Am I just holding him back? Was it stupid for me to try and go with him?? I feel like a huge burden."

The AI's hands suddenly dropped to his side, his aura suddenly seemed to soften.

A sigh escaped from him, "No. It wasn't stupid... That's not the word I would use. You're more than qualified to take on threats like that, you just needed to be more equipped. Also, that was a big mission, Flynn hasn't even seen those types of demons before, so he was hit with something new, too."

You bit your bottom lip, there was still a large bubbling pool of guilt buried deep within your stomach, but you decided to just nod and hold your tongue.

"Of course, you're probably going to have to ask him for confirmation." Vega took a step away from you, "Let's go get some water in you, I advise you to take pain medication to ease your upcoming migraines."

"Migraines?" You whined Vega pat your back solemnly with a nod.

As the two of you made your way over to the dining room, Vega gave you two small pain pills and a giant ass cup of water then sat down beside you. After you took in an acceptable amount of fluids, he told you to go rest up.

You nodded and stood, placing a kiss against his robotic temple.

His robo-suit suddenly became hotter than fire against your lips, and when you pulled back; the seams between his plates were glowing a dark blue, brighter than they were before.

He started stumbling on his own words, raising a finger as he tried to speak.

You giggled, it was odd, watching a robot get flustered, but cute nonetheless.

As you turned to head to the hub, you caught a glance back at Vega with his head in his hands.

You made your way over to the stairs, but something caught your eyes– A computer screen with a warning exclamation mark displayed on it.

Precariously, you walked over to it, pressing your fingertips against the display button.

> **_ARC Broadcast//:Log_01_**

_Reports are coming out of the quarantined Hellified zone near the San Andreas chasm._

_Satellite imagery shows what ARC personnel believe to be the legendary Doom Slayer himself fighting the mortally challenged._

_The Doom Slayer, or 'Doomguy' as he is sometimes referred to, was thought to be a myth of the resistance - a sort of avenging angel._

_He was last reported to be seen on Mars 8 Months ago and is allegedly responsible for the destruction of the Argent Tower there. He_ _disappeared soon afterward._

_The UAC continues to deny all reports of his existence._

_We will continue to broadcast new information as we receive it._

Your breath hitched, ARC personnel? Samuel is still running fugitive holds?!

There were two more unlisted broadcasts, prompting you to give them a listen;

**_> ARC Broadcast//:Log_02_ **

_This an ARC Broadcast:_

_To any ARC Personnel or survivors operating inside the hellified zones - please be advised. More Doom Slayer sightings have been coming in. ARC Leadership does not recommend any attempts to communicate with the Slayer directly - please avoid all contact with Doomguy at this time. While it is clear that the Slayer is an enemy of the challenged, it is unclear if he could also be a threat to civilians._

**_> ARC Broadcast//: Log_03_ **

_This is the Resistance Network._

_In an unbelievable turn of events, the Super Gore Nest has been destroyed._

_Reports from ARC personnel in the field say that they have seen a significant decrease in demonic activity across the globe._

_Many believe this is proof that the Doom Slayer himself has in fact joined the resistance effort and has successfully eliminated key figures within the ranks of the challenged._

_Operatives working inside the UAC Cultist Organization claim that the leader of that division, Priest Deag Ranak, was in fact removed from his office recently by the Slayer himself._

_As key leadership within the mortally challenged continue to fall on all fronts, this has given the resistance a key advantage in the war for Earth._

_The UAC continues to deny any knowledge of his existence. As surviving members of the ARC Network, this station believes that these reports are in fact... True._

_We believe the Slayer has joined us in the battle against the demons. To anyone still listening to this broadcast - know that there is hope... And he is out there._

Wait a minute... Is this... Old?

You checked the timestamp... Brand new.

"He... He did it." You muttered, then you found yourself smiling, drumming your fingers against the tabletop– _He did it!_ You raked your fingers through your hair, wincing as your nails brushed against the edge of your wound.

But wait...

Why isn't he home, then...?

Your smile suddenly faltered, shoulders slumping, is he okay?

Vega's hands on your shoulders suddenly made you jump up and let out a yelp. He giggled at the sudden jolt, seeming to be composed. "You better get to rest, [Y/n]."

Sheepishly, you nodded, allowing yourself to be guided into the stairs. As you descended, your head suddenly started to throb at the sudden jolts, okay... Maybe you do need a nap. When you made it to the bottom, excited chirping resonated within the room.

That put a smile back onto your face.

You scurried over to Churro's cage and lifted her, oh my! She was getting chubby! Or maybe that was just more fluff? You couldn't tell, all you knew is that you were happy to hold your warm baby in your arms.

With an exhausted flop, you laid back on the couch. Churro nuzzled underneath your arm for optimal cuddle time, and soon you found yourself dozing off, thinking of your knight in... blood splattered Sentinel armor.

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Ba'al watched as the humans around him fled and hid behind armored guards.

However, he paid no attention to that, not even drawing his weapon. These Earth humans couldn't even get a clear shot on him with how much their guns were shaking.

The automated voice sounded within the Mars base, "Level 5 demon nearing the main laboratory."

The Sentinel commander un-wistfully shoved the guards holding riot shields to the side, entering into the hallway leading to the head commander's office.

What was he doing barging in on Samuel Hayden's workforce, you're asking?

Well, he recognized the girl behind the armor yesterday, the way your eyes shone up to him... That was familiar. 

He doesn't know why, though, for his memory was clouded with visions of hellscapes and the ruins of his own home.

All that was in his brain now was following Kahn Maykr's commands.

But, he has a feeling that isn't the right thing to be doing...

As he ripped the armor away from your body, he saw the UAC logo more than once, pressuring him to go and see Samuel on why he'd be messing around with the live Sentinel.

The doors to Samuel's quarters opened on their own, allowing Berituk to make his way right up to the towering robot.

Samuel stood, gandering out the window with his back towards the demon. When he heard his heavy footsteps approaching, he turned his head ever so slightly.

He motioned to the chair at the other side of his desk, "Take a seat, won't you?"

Ba'al looked down to the chair, hesitantly sitting across from him.

Samuel took a seat as well, looking the Marauder up and down, "It's not every day an intelligent demon wanders into my facilities without drawing a weapon. I assume you are here to see me. "

The Marauder nodded, finally opening his mouth to conclude the cyborg's theory, "You'd be correct."

Hayden seemed surprised, letting out an astonished chuckle, "So you _speak?_ " He leant back in his chair, folding his fingers together.

"One of the only ones who can." The Sentinel sourly chuckled.

"Do you have a name, demon?" Dr. Hayden questioned.

He extended his armored hand as he leant back as well, crossing his legs, "Ba'al-Berituk."

"Doctor Samuel Hayden," Samuel clasped his hand with the demon's, the metal on metal contact making a loud scraping noise as they shook hands, "What can I help you with?"

Ba'al reached down to something on his armor belt, unlatching a hunk of metal and throwing it onto the desk.

Samuel seemed to double-take at the sight of the black chunk of armor, idly picking it up and examining the piece of shrapnel; it was a dislocated arm.

"Ah..." Hayden sat the metal down. Despite his low and growling tone, there was a wave of panic hidden behind the monotone voice, "What of it? You bring me a piece of armor and expect me to do what?"

"Who's it belong to, Dr. Hayden?" The Sentinel's face soon became smug as the robot cleared his non-existent throat.

Hayden sighed, "My Elitist." He began typing something into his computer.

"The name." He pried.

Samuel's head slowly swiveled away from the screen to gaze down at the Demon, "...[L/n]. [Y/n] [L/n]."

The robot watched as Ba'al's eye sockets widened, the red pinpricks within the holes seemed to dilate for a moment before he blinked, _he recognized that name._

"Listen." Samuel began, "I think you and me might be after the same thing."

Berituk suddenly cocked a brow bone, "Continue."

"She has something of mine. And I'm assuming she has something of yours, as well."

Ba'al shook his head, "No. She's a pure Argenta– A live one, too– Not many of those exist anymore. The Slayer doesn't count."

Samuel leaned in with a curt, "Why not?"

The Marauder laughed, slamming his fists on the desk, "If a half-assed attempt at overthrowing the throne to D'nur makes you a Sentinel, then by god he's one of the mightiest Sentinels yet! The throne should be ruled by a proper Argenta!"

The robot scratched his chin, nothing he hasn't heard or been there to witness. Dr. Hayden looked over the demon's armor closer, identifying the same markings that were on The Slayer's suit– And yours when he first found you.

"I have a proposal for you." Samuel suddenly concluded.

"Which is...?"

"I have disposable Argent energy at my fingertips— _Pure_ energy."

Oh, now Ba'al was listening.

"I can supply you with as much as you need to bring her— [Y/n]— to me. I'm aware she's working with The Doom Slayer, and seen from the satellite from Ranak's fortress, under his protection."

Shit, Ba'al forgot about Ranak, "The Priest is dead, isn't he?"

Samuel stumbled on his words, Ba'al may be intelligent and willing to participate, but he's still a demon... After all. Samuel moved to try and ease it on him, but the demon's response caught him off guard, " _Good_."

"You... You do not like your own leaders?"

"They don't know who the real leader is." Ba'al snarled, "I'm more worthy of any throne than they'll ever be."

Ah, he is driven by power...

Samuel would be smirking if he could be, chuckling lightly, "I'll tell you if you work with me... And can do this, I'm sure you'll be able to get whatever you want."

Berituk squinted at him as the cyborg held out a hand, "What do you say?"

The demon grimaced, slapping his palm against Hayden's and roughly shaking it, "It's a deal."

"Excellent." The robot stood, "Well, I'm assuming that you would like to see the Argent, correct?"

Ba'al stood with him, "Sure."

The comically large robot walked to the doors of his office, ducking under them lightly. Ba'al had to do the same due to his horns, but it was nowhere in comparison to Samuel.

Just outside of the rooms were guards with their shields up, guns pointed over the edge and straight at Berituk's forehead.

Samuel waved them off with a swing of his arm, confused, the soldiers began to lay back.

The Sentinel followed Hayden as he made his way through twists and turns, finally stopping at the most guarded door he's seen yet.

Samuel walked right through, the guards shook in fear at the sight of the 8'2 demon beside them.

Within was a large chamber of what seemed to be Argent energy pooling within a tube. Many humans were sitting at computer desks around the chamber, all boggling at the sight of a demon waltzing through.

Samuel walked up to a human and began speaking to it, motioning over towards the demon every so often. He nodded, glancing nervously over towards Ba'al, who was staring at the large test tube filled with glowing energy.

Hayden then started to guide the human and Ba'al after him, bringing them to a room with a medical table on it. The human motioned for the Marauder to hop on.

Reluctantly, Berituk followed and sat down on it. The male then brought over a metal table with some sort of gun on it.

He picked it up and then began to blabber and stutter, "This w-will um... It'll put an Argent Dispersal System in place... I have to put it on your uh... Temple here—" He tapped the side of his head, "It might um... Might knock you out for a moment... But I'm... I'm uh, sure you will be fine s-sir, y-you look... Strong enough t-to handle it."

Ba'al looked over to Samuel, who was standing off to the side, crossing his arms. The Sentinel looked over to the human, "Go ahead."

The male startled, he wasn't expecting him to speak back.

Shakily, he brought the gun up to the demon's forehead and clicked the trigger. A hot jolt seared through Ba'al's temple, and before he knew it, he was out cold.

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	16. 16 | RETROSPECTION : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al remembers. You and Flynn talk it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chappies in one day hoes
> 
> ( yeah i edited this again lol )

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Ba'al yipped in pain as he felt another pair of knuckles make contact with his ribs. The man fell on his side, glaring up to the bastard using him as a punching bag.

Ba'al was actually quite attractive as a human, he had yellow-gray eyes and black wavy locks of hair atop his head. He had somewhat of a beard, and his hair was braided back into a warrior Sentinel hairdo.

Sybrus smirked back down at him, scoffing as he panted on the arena floor. Sybrus was one of the highest respected commanding Sentinels, just below his father, Valen. He had light skin and a head of curly black hair pulled back neatly into dreadlocks, along with opal eyes. 

"This one's weak," Sybrus spoke, then looked over his shoulder, " _Su'ur, dera t'nur!_ " He called as Ba'al scrambled to stand.

Ba'al watched as you waltzed over, his eyes widening at the sight of you. He thought you were attractive, yes, but that's not the reason; its because you were so small compared to any of the Sentinels around them, and you were a girl! Argentian men were, on average, 7 feet tall, women were usually 6 foot. You were considered tiny, like— Really tiny— Being only 5'2.

" _Tun?_ " You looked up to Sybrus, Ba'al could tell from your clothes you were a medic, he'd hoped that this was over and now he'd be able to just get back to his jail cell, but he was mistaken.

Usually, Sentinels start base level training at 16, but Ba'al was a special case. Unlike all the other Sentinels who were born into warrior blood, Ba'al had to fight his way in. 

He'd purposely gotten himself thrown into the slammer, waiting for his turn to fight in the Arena in front of Valen, a wonderful platform to express his strength. Berituk hoped he'd get an easy opponent and prove his worth. What he wasn't expecting was to be face to face with the Commander's son.

"Remember what I showed you?" Sybrus spoke down to you.

You gulped, as Sybrus grabbed your fists and held them out in front of you, "Wait, wha—"

"I want to see how all this training paid off." Sybrus smirked.

Ba'al started to sweat, was he really gonna have to fight… You? You're… Tiny.

You looked up to the bleeding male, giving him a sorrowful look, " _Xetan, norvi'ek_." You whispered.

Ba'al raised his fists, expecting a soft punch to the stomach but gasping as the air was knocked out of him. Berituk swung his fist and landed on your jaw, in which he recoiled in regret, "Sorry." He tried, but not before you angrily punched him back.

He seemed surprised, gritting his teeth as he realized you weren't as fragile as you seemed, rearing back for another jab when you switched tactics and kicked at his legs.

" _Keval'n har_!" Sybrus cheered you on as you kicked at Ba'al's knees again, hitting a weak spot as he toppled over.

You grabbed his arm and tossed him onto his back, a jarring popping noise made you both cringe as Ba'al's back hit the arena's floor.

Sybrus cheered, but you were mortified, suddenly on your knees by the man's head, "By the wraiths!" You cried, grabbing his dislocated arm.

"No, it's disloca—!" Ba'al tried to shove you off, but before he could manage you popped his arm right back in the socket like you've done this a million times over (which you have), making him groan in pain again.

"I am so sorry." You softly spoke, looking at Ba'al's busted lip and black eye.

He held his shoulder as he sat up, "That's ok…" He muttered.

"Don't apologize to this criminal!" Sybrus walked up to you, "You did wonderfully, you should be proud."

You stood, glaring up at the chief, "I'm sorry but I refuse to do this."

Sybrus tried to protest, but you turned to Ba'al on the ground, "Can you stand?"

The male quickly got to his feet, wincing as he put pressure on his arm.

"Come with me." You ushered him to the arena's sidelines, leaving Sybrus to scoff and turn to watch his other troops train using prisoners as punching bags.

You led Ba'al into a smaller room, the medical ward, and sat him down on a table.

Sadly, you looked up to the man, "You should not be treated like this." You spoke under your breath as you reached to get a roll of bandages and gauze.

Ba'al grunted, "You… You're going to help me?" 

"Yes. Sparring is one thing, but this is taking it too far, even though they're criminals, they're Argentians, too." You sighed, "Sybrus can get out of hands sometimes. I do love him, but let's just say he wears his title with pride."

"You love him?" Ba'al's head tilted, watching as you worked with the cuts on his arms, "Is he your lover?" 

Your cheeks flushed, "Not officially…" You muttered, "Valen wants us to be, though." 

"Valen?" Ba'al grunted, "Oh… You're that medic girl that he's taken under his wing, aren't you?" 

"Yeah," You glanced up at Ba'al, who was smirking down at you, "Enough questions from you. Now time for me to ask, what is your name?"

"Ba'al-Berituk," He smirked, "You're [Y/n]?" 

You glanced up to him, "How did you know my name?" 

"Word gets around in the cells." He shrugged.

"What… What are you in for?" You hesitated to ask.

Ba'al grunted, "I stole food and waited to be detained." 

Your hands stopped working on his cuts for a moment as you blinked, "Come again?' 

"I said I stole some bread and purposely got caught, what about it?" 

" _Why_?" You squinted.

"Because I was hungry?" He laughed, you scoffed.

"Why would you want to be caught?" You moved to wrap his slowly swelling shoulder.

"The fastest way into the Sentinels," Ba'al shrugged with his good shoulder, "I don't have anything else to do." 

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" You chuckled, "What if you're in for manslaughter?"

He scoffed, "I've never killed a man. How could I when I'm shit at fighting? You saw me out there. I was taken out by _you_." 

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" You snarled.

He shook his head, "Nothing— You are… Actually very skilled." He leant in, smugly grinning down at you.

"Oh don't get all sweet on me, I'm not afraid to dislocate your other shoulder and not pop it back in this time." 

He huffed, as you moved onto his face to press cleaner against his lip, "You really got into jail just to get a chance to be in the Sentinels… But you don't know how to fight?" 

"I thought they'd throw me in with the rookies, not Valen's son himself." He groaned.

You bit your lip, "What if I… Train you?" You offered, not knowing how the logistics would work, but why not give it a try? "I was trained by Sybrus, and I am Valen's apprentice, so I have a few things up my sleeve." 

Ba'al blinked, "You would… Do that?" 

You inhaled, well, here goes nothing, "I want to help you. To repay you for… Dislocating your shoulder." 

Ba'al smirked, humming, "You know what, little lady? I'll accept your offer." 

You smiled happily, moving to finish up the rest of Ba'al's wounds.

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"I'm telling you, I swore I saw an angel." Ba'al poked fun at you as you rolled your eyes. You two had just gotten finished sparring for the day.

The two of you have known each other for a few months now. You explained Ba'al's situation to Valen and did a fact check, turns out he was telling the truth 100%. Valen agreed to pull some strings and pull him out of jail, offering him a spot on the lower level Sentinels, but you were happy you could help the man.

You thought that'd be the last you'd see of him, but somehow the two of you kept running into one another, and then you both sucked it up and decided to keep in touch.

"You probably saw that statue." You pointed to the Maykr statue in the garden by the field you were in, he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

" _Ruk_ ," He urged, "It was a real angel."

You glanced up to Ba'al, who was waiting for you to catch onto the joke that you were the angel he was looking at.

"Do I need to check your skull? You sure you didn't hit your head when you fell?" You raised a brow, making Ba'al sigh.

You heard footsteps in the rocks behind you, making you both sit up and glance over to who was approaching, when your eyes met a familiar face.

Sybrus and Ba'al glared at each other, the two truly did not like one another. Sybrus felt as if Berituk didn't earn his place in the Sentinels, his tactic was cheap and dirty and quite frankly dishonoring; while Ba'al felt the same exact way about him— Being the commander's son shouldn't give you a free ticket into being a Sentinel, he should have to earn it like everyone else.

Sybrus turned his attention back to you, " _Surean, neva-sev'r_." He greeted, boasting the title as girlfriend.

It was official now, ever since Ba'al started to get ballsy enough to flirt with you, Sybrus put a stop to it right away and sealed the deal with you like Valen wanted you both to do.

You were happy, but it was hard since Sybrus had to go away for long periods of time for Sentinel business.

"Hi, Sybrus." You smiled, standing to join the male at his side.

Sybrus brushed a piece of [h/c] hair out of your face and leant down, pressing a kiss to your lips as he glared at Berituk.

Ba'al watched with jealousy as you two parted, Sybrus slipping an arm around your shoulders, "We should head home now, it's gonna snow tonight. Don't wanna get caught out here." 

You looked over to Ba'al, "You should come over for dinner?" You questioned, knowing that he had no family to go home to. His living space was fairly close to your, Sybrus, and Valen's shared quarters, though. Just a few floors difference.

Ba'al awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, I'm probably not welcome after last time." 

Ba'al recalled last time you invited him over for dinner. He made a joke about you being short and you laughed, but Sybrus didn't think it was funny. Then, the whole situation escalated as Ba'al did everything in his power to piss Sybrus off, even going as far as slapping you right on the ass. Then, a fistfight broke out and it turned out Ba'al's training had been paying off. Even though Sybrus was bigger than him, Berituk had more vigor behind his punches.

The whole thing ended with Valen and you having to pull them apart, and you walking Ba'al to his quarters and then going back and tending to Sybrus's bloody nose.

"You're _not_." Sybrus spat, pulling you closer to him. You gave Ba'al a sorrowful look while he just smugly grinned at Sybrus, waving at you both as you walked off.

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You giggled against the man's chest, Ba'al had his arm around you as the two of you sat on his quarters balcony, overlooking the city from the castle. He passed the bottle of booze back to you after he took a sip.

Sybrus was away on one of his Sentinel missions. Before he left you two had gotten in a fight with how little he seemed to care about your feelings. He'd only kiss you when Ba'al was looking, and when you tried to snuggle on him any other time he'd tell you "I'm busy right now, babe". You understood the fact he was busy, but it just started to feel like he didn't really care and confronted him.

Tonight you and Ba'al were celebrating the fact he'd made it all the way up in the Sentinels, he was just under Sybrus now, yet somehow he'd manage to make time out of his day to see you for hours every day. You'd started to grow an attachment to the man, and he's begun doing the same with you.

Ba'al suddenly turned to you, propping his elbow that was once draped around your shoulders onto the wall, "Why do you like that stuck up asshole, anyways?"

His words were a bit slurred, you were each a little bit fuzzy, not even enough to be counted as tipsy, but Sentinel alcohol was strong. One bottle (that you snuck off Valen's cabinet) split between the two of you was enough to make your fingers tingle.

You blinked, not really expecting the question, "Hm? Who?"

"Sybrus." He spoke, "Why do you like him? What's so great about that douchebag?"

You hummed, "I don't know… He's cute, I suppose." 

Ba'al squinted, "Is that the only reason? Are you telling me all I have to do for you to like me is to be cute?" He joked, pulling you into his chest more as he spoke into your ear, his rough accent making his words sound deep.

"No, no. There's… More." You spoke, reaching up to twist a loose curl of hair in your fingers. When the two of you are alone he's been wearing his hair down since you called him handsome when he took out his braids.

"What is it? What's the _more_?" He urged, "If you can find one reason I'll drop it." 

You bit your tongue, looking up to the stars as you contemplated, "He taught me how to fight."

"No he didn't." Ba'al roughly spoke back.

"How?" You looked surprised.

"He may have taught you some useless shit, but he did not teach you how to fight. I heard the stories about what you did on that battlefield before you even met him."

"Well— He…" You stuttered.

"What's he ever done for you besides make you sad you can't see him? Give me a real reason, [Y/n]." Berituk pushed.

"He… H-He's gotten me my position as a weapons engineer?" 

"No. You did that. Not him. You are the one making all these weapons and guns, how did he play a role in that?" Ba'al rolled his eyes at your surprised expression, "You are talented, don't put your success on him."

You looked out to the stars again, taking a long drink from the bottle on your hand.

With a sigh, you melted into Ba'al's side, "To the wraiths… What am I doing?"

"Beats me," Baal shrugged, "Break up with him."

"We're on a break right now…" You muttered, looking up to Berituk's face.

He replied with a grunt, grabbing up the bottle from your hands and taking a swig. He looked back out to the buildings before he heard you suddenly sniffle.

"H-Hey, hey…" He pulled you into his chest further as you began to sniffle.

"I-I just— F-Feel like he doesn't w-want to be with me." You whimpered.

"Okay… Let's go inside, okay?" He suddenly scooped you into his arms to pick you up and stand.

He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch with you in his lap, "Listen, if he doesn't want you then he's the dumbass here. I mean, you're you. You're so talented and beautiful and nice a-and really beautiful." 

You rubbed at your eyes, feeling Ba'als hands replace yours on your cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"Aw, c'mon, this is supposed to be a happy night." He pinched your side, making you giggle lightly as you sniffled.

You face planted into his shoulder, your chests pressed up against one another. He brought his giant hand up to hold the back of your neck and rub his calloused thumb against the soft of your skin.

No matter how many times you try to think back on it, never one has Sybrus comforted you in this way, never once has he said those things to you. It was always Ba'al.

He's been there for you ever since you met him, never once has he lied to you or got in an argument. Ba'al has been so sweet to you since day one.

The gears began turning in your head, making your brows knit together. You suddenly sat up, looking up at Ba'al's face. He looked back down at you, cupping your face in his hands, "You okay?" 

You nodded silently, but in your brain you were screaming internally as you watched your hands move by instinct and cup his scruffy chin in return.

His eyes widened for a moment before that smug smile of his was plastered on his face, he knew what you were up to, getting ready as your face inched closer. You hesitated, you could feel his breath against yours at this point, just a few centimeters away.

"You shy?" He smirked devilishly, making your face heat up at how attractive he was. He couldn't wait any longer, leaning in the rest of the way so your lips were firmly pressed together.

You both let out a long awaited hum of bliss, sinking into each other's arms as you kissed and all your worries were slowly lifted away.

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Ba'al shot up off of the table, huffing.

He remembers.

He knows you— Your face.

His... You were his.

He looked at his hands, grunting as he saw his demonic skin.

You'd— You'd never love him now.

There was an aching in his heart,

Oh fuck, there was an aching _everywhere_ in his body—

The pain brought him back to reality.

Everything hurt.

He reached up to his temple, pressing his fingers into the implant on his head. Wait a minute... His arm seemed... Lighter than usual.

He looked down at his arm to see his charred skin ripped free of his armor.

His fingers traveled up to rake down his chest... He could have sworn he had armor on just minutes ago... 

In place of where the red beam on his armor was, was another implant that connected to the one in his head.

The demon groaned, laying back on the table in pain as he thought about what he'd just remembered.

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You shook awake at the sudden jolt of the fortress shaking. You scrambled to stand, seeing Churro was— _Somehow_ — Still asleep curled up on the couch, you left her there, running over to hop up the stairs.

Hopefully Flynn's home... And _safe_ …

You got there just as Vega closed the portal, Flynn grunted on the ground, throwing his gun to his side.

You ran over to him, kneeling at his side, his gauntlets were around his torso, but you couldn't tell if it was demon blood or his blood dripping down his side.

"F-Flynn?" You questioned, his helmet turned to look at you, and before you knew it, his big strong arms were wrapped around your small form.

The blood and guts covering his armor dirtied your clothes and your skin as he held onto you, but right now? Right now you didn't care.

He released the hatch on his helmet, taking it off and pressing a hard kiss to your forehead, then another on your temple, and another on your cheekbone, then another on your jaw, "You... You're okay." he breathed out into the crook of your neck, clearly exhausted.

You pulled away from him, his heavy breath giving you chills, " _You_ were worried if _I_ was okay?" With a scoff, you pushed off of him lightly, "You should've known how worried I was!"

He chuckled but winced as he did, ah, he was hurt...

"Come on, okay? Let's get you fixed up, everything else can wait." You stood and offered a hand, forgetting that he was wearing his armor. When he helped himself up, you stumbled to hold the weight of his suit against the ground.

He had a big chunk taken out of his armor, and a new cut ripped into his abs. I mean... Getting to work up close and personal with his abs was nice and all, but then Vega stepped in to give him stitches.

You went back downstairs to put Churro to bed as he tended to the rest of Flynn's wounds, not wanting to intervene more than you have already today.

But... The chick wasn't there...

You bit your lip, making your way down the hall, on a wild chick hunt. You noticed the lights were on in Flynn's room. Slowly, you peeked your head in through the door, hearing a chirp.

"Churro?" You called again and heard the clicking of a keyboard as she stood up. Poor baby was cold so she came and slept on his computer, aww!

But wait— Why's Flynn's computer on? You walked over to it, picking Churro up and glancing at what was on the screen.

A file caught your eye, titled "United Aerospace Corporation".

Vega said he could get to all the files they had, right...?

Without thinking, your hand reached for the mouse. But, instead of hitting hard plastic, you were stopped by a warm hand.

You flinched and turned around, looking up to that same scowl that Flynn had given you when he threw you through the portal. You immediately brought your hand up to join the other one holding Churro.

"Whatcha up to?" He questioned.

"Um... Just, getting Churro. Thought I'd turn off your PC."

Flynn grunted, leaning down and reaching past you to turn his computer off himself. You stepped around him, deciding that you probably should just leave, he's clearly upset.

"I—" You tried, but it caught in your throat.

The large male studied your face as you struggled, not saying anything. With one glance up to his face, you decided to just drop it, "I'll get out of your hair... G-Goodnight."

As you walked to the door, you could still feel his eyes on the back of your head. He wanted to say something, too.

He wasn't mad at you… He thought _you_ were mad at _him_ for leaving you behind.

Suddenly, you found your courage and turned back around again just before you reached the door, "I-I'm sorry." You whimpered.

Flynn seemed to be caught off guard by your sudden outburst, "I— I should've listened to you, you know. I just— I wanted to help you. I thought that... I thought that we could y'know... Do this thing together but... I shouldn't have gotten in your way... You... You were fine without me."

You wanted to stop there, but you just... Felt so incompetent, you continued, "I don't... I don't know why you even bothered to— To save me when you first met me, you didn't have to carry me around."

"That's... That's all I feel like you've been doing; Is carrying me. And… I feel like a burden to you. I feel like a dead weight. I mean, you, Flynn, are _The_ mother fucking _Doom Slayer_! You shouldn't have to put up with roadblocks like me."

You watched as Flynn didn't even move a muscle. You found yourself biting back tears at his lack of response, you took a few steps back and pressed your back against the door.

You ushered out a quick "Goodnight." As you turned and activated the motion detectors, stumbling down the hallway and to the living room.

Steadying yourself, you bent down and set Churro back onto her bed of shavings, sniveling.

You heard the shifting of metal behind you, assuming it was Vega coming down to calm you. But you were clearly mistaken.

A strong hand on your bicep urged you to stand and face whoever was holding you, but, you knew it was Flynn. You did as he silently commanded, looking up to see his suddenly soft and regretful eyes.

He took a step forward and grabbed ahold of the back of your neck, pulling you to press against his chest. He was still all sweaty from being in his suit and smelt like iron, but the way he rubbed his calloused hands up and down your back somehow lulled you to stay put. Your hands came to grope at the fabric of his shirt as the silence between the two of you suddenly became a lot warmer.

Flynn leant down, gripping the back of your thighs suddenly, making you squeak out a "What—!?" as he lifted you to where you were straddling his hips, kind of like a reverse piggy-back-ride.

You felt him carry you over to the couch, and sat down, plopping you right into his lap

"I want you to understand something." He started, "Number one: You're _not_ dead weight. If you weren't there ta help me with those Hunters, I woulda ate dust." He pressed his finger against your nose.

"Number two: I saved you because I saw something in you. The way yah stood up to me and had the nerve to shoo me ' _The Doom Slayer'_ —" He put finger quotations around his title, "—out of your safehouse, ain't nobody stand up to me." 

"Number three:" He grabbed your biceps, pinning your arms to the side of your body, leaning forward and pulling you as far into his lap as he could.

He didn't even struggle as he manhandled and moved you around, making you realize just how strong he really was.

His hot breath nipped at your earlobe as he growled out in that rough voice of his, " _I don't_ ** _ever_** _wanna hear you talk bad about yerself again._ " He shook you lightly, " _You understand?_ "

As he leant back to look into your eyes, you gulped and nodded, goosebumps littering your skin at the display he just put on.

He smiled down at you, letting out a sigh, the grip on your arms loosened as he sat back on the couch. He swung his legs up and laid his head on one of the armrests, perfectly content with you staying there.

Soon, you found yourself laying down on his chest with your legs still straddling his waist, his fingertips fluttered up and down your back, sliding up and underneath your shirt every once and awhile, making you shiver.

"You're tiny," He joked, making your head hum with the vibration of his neck, "Yer like a lil flower... My buttercup."

You felt yourself blushing at his words, but your mind wandered to something else. The way he said his title, "Hey Flynn?"

"Mmh yeah?" He questioned, probably half asleep.

"Do you like being The Doom Slayer?"

You felt as his hands came to rest on your back, he let out a heavy sigh. Uh oh, did you hit a soft spot?

"Yaknow... For the longest time, I was filled with so much rage... Hatred." He sourly chuckled, "I thought at first, I was fighting for the people... But now there ain't no more people left to fight for. So there was really no fight to be had any more... Nothin' to protect..."

He paused, "But... Now I know what I have to do. Why I have the title I do."

"And...? What's the reason??" You looked up to him, cocking your head to the side lightly.

"It's to make sure to fight for what's right... To protect." He smiled lightly, "And now I know what to protect, I finally have somethin'..."

Flynn locked eyes with your [e/c] ones, blinking up at your beautiful face,

" _It's you, buttercup._ "

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "You there, come here!"
> 
> "Yes?"
> 
> "Sorry, dude."
> 
> "Nope,"
> 
> "Hey, babe."


	17. 17 | RETROSPECTION : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find some vital information out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait , i've not been in the swing of things lately . but i'll always go ape shit for some doomguy lovin'

[wedding fanart](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621525607950532608/bro-we-got-some-wedding-fanart-from) and [reader and doomguy doodles](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621143721445146624/fanart-from-reptile-queen-over-on-wattpad) by reptile-queen

[wedding dress concept](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621362820812079104/i-feel-like-a-disgrace-but-woryy-not-for-the) and [the reader in doomguy's shirt](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621362787175759874/i-feel-like-i-have-bothered-you-with-my-idiocy) by havingnonamesucks

[demon-ified reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621186068759330816/henlo-madame-sky-water-i-present-thee-with-an) by arachnid-heart

[reader and churro](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621814991174172673/b-bro-this-is-beautiful-i-love-it-so-much) by mieramsteinner

[doomguy sketch](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/622296938502668288/flynn-by-yoloanimates-on-wattpad) by yoloanimates

[reader and doomguy smoochin](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/621916888826609664/guys) a birthday present from cassielsuhn

[the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/622019484086059008/bro) a birthday present from viceversa-official

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flynn awoke to the weight on his chest shifting and mumbling, making him peel his eyes open and stretch. The warmth atop him made him want to curl up beside you and bury his face into the top of your head, but he managed to escape the urges and flop onto his side so you'd slip off of him.

Man, you were so very small and light...

He wrapped himself around you tighter for a moment, before sighing and pressing a hard kiss to your forehead.

You let out a little half-awake grumble, prompting him to smile and plant another light smooch atop your head, before slipping out of your entangled grasp and stumbling to the shower.

He couldn't walk straight, it seemed, he wanted to tell himself it was due to tiredness, but the butterflies in his stomach and tingling on his lips as he fluttered them over your skin was evident that it was, in fact, not due to exhaustion.

As the muscular man ripped himself free of his bloodied t-shirt that he somehow fell asleep in, he looked down to the stitches in his chest, peeling off the gauze to reveal that it had almost healed right up overnight. Flynn kind of feels bad for you, you can't just heal like he can.

Just another reason to keep you protected, huh?

Vega's teasing voice booked from the intercom, "You feeling good after you swore you wouldn't get hurt?" Vega would have been smiling down at Flynn and giving him that iconic "I told you so" face that his robot somehow pulls off, Flynn could sense it in his voice— The two _were_ best friends, after all.

"Psssh." Flynn raked his hands through his hair, "It's not even that bad." He leaned back on the sink counter, staring off into the distance.

"I'll leave you to shower. I can't believe [Y/n] fell asleep on you despite how bad you smell." Vega chuckled, and then Flynn heard the intercom switch off.

"Smell bad–?" He picked up his shirt and sniffed it, coughing at the smell of smokey hellfire and coppery blood.

Shit, that's embarrassing, he was gonna use 30 layers of deodorant to compensate.

As he peeled off the rest of his clothes and dunked them into the hamper, you shivered on the couch due to the lack of your big hunky man-friend.

You stretched and rolled over, trying to grab at him, but soon realized that he wasn't there.

With a disappointed hum, you sat up, rubbing your eyes with a loud yawn.

"Good morning." Vega chimed, "If you'd like, I made coffee, I can meet you upstairs."

"Oh, thanks, Vega." You smiled, wrapping yourself up in your blanket and heading upstairs.

Once you were up there, Vega gingerly took ahold of your hand and led you to the kitchen, you could hear a tune humming within his robotic throat, making you smile.

He walked you over to the coffee machine and watched as you did your thing, pouring copious amounts of sugar into your coffee. As you moved to turn around, a brightly colored book caught your eye.

Vega caught onto your drift, eyeing the book as you slid over and grabbed ahold of it, "What's this?" you questioned, flipping one of the flour-covered pages.

"A cookbook, filled with various human foods," Vega answered, watching as you flipped through the pages with sparkling eyes.

Your fingers slid over the powdery pages, blinking at the pictures of different dishes with of you barely recognized. As you flipped through the book, you questioned Vega about various ingredients.

He told you they were from human recipes, and that it might be a little difficult for you to make them— Since every time Flynn tried, he failed miserably— But you were determined anyways.

Vega watched as opening up cabinets to find bowls and spoons, pointing out every now and then where an item or two were. He peered over your small shoulder to get a glimpse of the page you're looking at; chocolate chip cookies.

He would've smiled if he could, that's cute as hell.

The AI began to grab ingredients for you since you were kind of too short to reach them. Also, you kept on getting confused at the different measurement methods between liquid and solid. He coached you on using the dry cups and liquid cups, but just gave up when you used the dry cup to pour water.

Flynn stepped out of his room, running a hand through his wet hair, you had removed yourself from the couch... So that means...

He walked over to the staircase, eyes widening as he made it to his designated floor and the sweet smell of a bakery filled his nose. What were you up to, huh?

The Marine eagerly tiptoed to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Vega instructing you on how to roll cookie dough onto sheets of parchment paper.

Wow, Flynn has never been more excited about something in his life.

With a big dumb smile on his face, he walked over and leant against the counter, watching as you pressed the last clump batter onto the pan, "Does that look good?" You turned to Vega, who nodded.

As you turned back to the oven, you were caught off guard by Flynn's presence, smiling up at him, "Oh, hey, I'm making some... Uh... What are they called, Vega?"

"Cookies." Vega responded, you walked over to the bot and leant all your weight onto him, he ate up the attention and wrapped his arm around you.

Vega shoved the batch in the oven with the other tray using his free hand as Flynn turned towards you, "I see that, chocolate chips, huh?"

With a smile, you nodded, walking over to the recipe book, "I tried to..."

"Hey, they aren't easy to make. Flynn stepped behind you and slung an arm around your waist, looking down at the content in the book beneath you.

"No, they are easy to make, you just can't cook, Fly." Vega joked, making Flynn glance over to him.

Your muscular friend slipped away, patting your head lightly as he removed the cookies from the oven.

Flynn, without blinking, picked up the molten hot cookies and bit into one. Your brows furrowed with confusion as he chewed, Vega facepalmed making a metal clank resonate through the room.

"These 're good." He smiled down at you, "You can cook."

"But, they're– Aren't they hot?"

He looked down at the baked good in his hand, shrugging, "Food's food, buttercup."

"Says the guy who eats straight pickle juice and maple syrup." Vega commented, making you look over to Flynn disgusted, he just smiled, "You're just mad you can't eat it and experience the flavor."

Vega responded a blunt, "Incorrect."

You giggled, turning to take a cookie and bite into it as well. In your opinion, they were subpar, mediocre at best, but you watched as Flynn ate them just as happy.

"These 're so good." He muttered, picking up another one and shoving it into his mouth, "Where'd you learn to cook?"

You looked down to the recipe, "Uhhh... I dont know." You shrugged, "I just can I guess."

"Will you make me more?" Flynn whined, leaning over you.

"You haven't even eaten the whole batch!" You cried, looking over to see he'd actually already eaten half.

Okay maybe you do need to make more.

You looked back down to the cookbook, getting ready to make another batch; then, you suddenly realized what you had your hands on, a human book.

From Earth...

"How do you have this book?" You questioned, looking over to the broad-shouldered brunette, he blushed lightly, "Ah, y'know got it back home a long time ago."

The gears in your head begin to turn.

How is he a Sentinel if he lived and was born on Earth?

Wouldn't he be a human then instead of a sentinel?

How did you not realize this when he was talking about living on Earth?

We're you just too overjoyed at the fact not all of the Sentinels are dead?

Was it a mistake to trust him?

You felt yourself suddenly become very self-aware of the positioning of his forearm hooked back around your waist. The lingering touch suddenly felt a little off, since the story wasn't adding up.

"Flynn?" You questioned, looking up to him– God is that even his real name?

Did he just take the dog tag off some dead Sentinel?

He felt your posture and heard your tone change, catching him off guard, Vega also seemed to catch on to the sudden mood change, standing straight up as his eye-light focused on you, "[Y/n]?"

"You... How were you born on Earth if you're... You– you're not an Argenti, are you?"

Flynn bit his lip. Watching as you tried to slip yourself from his fingers, that... _Hurt_. It stung to see you try and pull away, he thought you two were getting somewhere, becoming closer...

The human looked up to his robot companion, the two shared a look of " _Oh shit_."

Most of the Sentinels didn't accept him being apart of their legion, they thought that he was coinciding with the demons that invaded their land.

Even after it was declared he was the mightiest warrior, people were still outraged since their new ruler was one of human descent.

He sighed, dropping his arms to his sides, "Not by blood... No, but they–"

"You're a human?"

"Uh– N-No? Well, yes, but it's more complicated than th–"

"No?" You took a step back, which hurt him more, "What are you?"

He reached out to you and took ahold of your hand, you looked down to the hold as he ran a thumb over your knuckles, trying to soothe you, "Okay, listen."

You hesitated, but nodded anyway due to the soft and reassuring hold he was providing.

You suddenly regretted lashing out as you remembered all he had done for you...

Fuck, you should think before you freak out– Especially at the Doom Slayer.

"I'm a human, born and raised on Earth to human parents. But, I ended up in hell where the Sentinels found me and King Novik allowed me in."

You squinted at him, "Wait... So you're really not an Argenti?"

Flynn nodded slowly, watching your face flash through a few emotions before finally landing on a confused yet understanding expression.

The two of you stood in silence for a moment, before Flynn moved to place a hand on your shoulder. This time you did not pull away, relieving him as he took hold of you and guided you to press against his chest.

You looked up to him, still questioning the story, "So, how did he let you in?"

"Huh?" He glanced down at you, "When were you in the Sentinels again?"

With a glance to your feet, you pressed your brows together, biting your lip trying to determine the time frame, "Uhm, well... I..." You hummed, "I can't... I can't remember."

You stood there for a moment, trying to determine your own timeline. But... You actually couldn't really remember anything before Samuel Hayden took you in. All you remember was waking up in the Mars base.

With a suck of your teeth, you rubbed the back of your head, "When did... How'd you even become a Sentinel? You have to have warrior blood."

Flynn bit his lip, walking over to sit at the dining room table. You gingerly followed after, taking a seat beside him as Vega worked to clean up the charred cookies.

"I guess yah don't know that much about what happened. Huh?"

You shook your head no, watching as he ran his fingers through his hair and let out an attracti— Uh, a sleepy chuckle.

You could kind of tell underneath the sweet side to him was a tired man, one who just wanted rest after all of the fights he's been having. You would be tired, too, if the universe depended on your battles.

"I don't even know how I got to D'nur or Prime, but I did. King Novik saw something in me—" He let out a sour chuckle, "I'm still not sure what— But, he did, 'n he let me fight alongside with them when the demons invaded."

"The demons invaded Sentinel Prime?" You inquired, looking down, ' _That must be why there's not that many of us left..._ ' You thought.

"A lot of people fell in battle, and the assholes who 're on the Maykr's side got turned into demons too. That's when I knew they were no good." Flynn grimaced, "But, King Novik thanked me for my bravery in protecting his people and deemed me worthy to be apart of the Guard."

You bit the inside of your cheek, "The dead soldiers were turned into demons?"

Flynn stopped, his posture suddenly stiffened. You heard Vega halt with whatever he was working on, looking over his shoulder towards you two.

"Which... Which demons?"

He looked to his hands, then up to your eyes, trying to figure out the emotion behind the look on your face, "Marauders."

You felt your chest tighten.

"Like— The one— He—" You pried at your chest, symbolizing the demon that ripped your armor apart.

Flynn reached out and held your forearm gently. Your brain was going ape shit.

"He didn't, he didn't attack me after he saw my face— What— Does he know who I am? Do they remember being alive?" You sputtered out a bunch of questions you didn't want to ask, leaving Flynn with a sad look in his eyes.

You then remembered how the demon slipped away after Flynn showed up, making a sour taste fill your mouth, "Have... _Have you ever killed one?_ "

The two of you locked eyes. Flynn's soft-grip became a bit tenser as no answer left his lips. His face seemed to be blank of any emotion and his eyes were glossed over.

All you could whisper out was a small " _Flynn?_ "

He responded with a blunt, " _They're demons now_."

You stood and tried to pull away but he just yanked you right back towards him, pressing your chest to his torso. He looked down at you with the same look in his eyes. The two of you shared a silent stare, and he muttered out a, "C'mon..." In a deep and gravelly alluring voice.

You would have shivered at his breath nipping at your neck of not for the tenseness of the situation. He was right, they _were_ demons now.

You've killed Earth humans that were turned into demons, so based on your accusations he could be mad at you, too.

With an inhale, you looked down at your feet. He was right, but that didn't stop you from wanting to know more. You wanted to know more about his time in the Sentinels, and more about that Marauder too.

Vega is connected to all of the ARC and UAC servers too! So maybe...

Your thoughts were cut off by his firm lips pressing against the flush of your now reddened [s/c] cheek.

Flynn hummed out an "I'm sorry." and you almost felt your knees buckle with the sheer fluttering of your stomach.

"You're right— It's okay." You smiled softly up to him, watching as his tired features suddenly sweetened.

The two of you stood there for a moment holding one another until you knocked your head on his collarbone.

Slowly, you pried yourself off of Flynn, "I'm um... Gonna take a shower, okay?"

His fingers hesitantly released you, and he nodded "A-Ah, yah, okay."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Later, you stepped out of the shower, drying off your [h/t] hair. When you stepped out of the bathroom, you heard several metallic bangs and chimes resonating from Flynn's room.

You recalled the armor in his room set against an anvil, and Vega saying how he created the armor plating on his robot. He was probably just repairing his old armor or something.

Regardless, you made your way up the stairs and to the hub, now was the best time to do this.

You walked up to the computer, squinting at the bright blue lights. Your fingers fidgeted before you latched onto the mouse, swiveling it around until the monitor before you flashed to life.

The home screen popped on for a moment before Vega's icon took over the screen.

"Do you need something, Miss [Y/n]? I am available to aid in whatever you need."

You bit your lip, _'Here goes nothing.'_

"I just wanted to see what you have on the Argenti after I left."

Vega thought for a moment before the computer seemed to direct itself. You watched as the screen routed to a folder named " _Codex.Sentinel_Log_ "

"These should explain most of the questions you have."

"Thanks, Vega." You smiled at the screen, despite not knowing if he could even see you.

"Affirmative."

You started to skim through the logs humming lightly until you found a file named " _The_Outlander_ ".

That was a name you've never heard before. Furrowing your brows, you clicked on it.

_During Novik's reign, a stranger was found on the outskirts of Argent D'Nur, unsure of his origins the people of Argenta pronounced him the "Outlander", a strange man from a strange world._

_Skeptical of his arrival, he was taken to Sentinel Prime to be judged in the Coliseum. This stranger's determination in the Blood Arena won the admiration of the Sentinel people._

_Soon after the Outlander's arrival, hell's legions swarmed Taras Nabad. Novik soon caught notice of the Outlander's familiarity with their enemies and his utter brutality towards them._

_He immediately deemed the Outlander worthy of selection as a member of the Night Sentinels while silencing the Inquisitors of the Sentinel Guard for suspecting the Outlander of colluding with the demons._

_The Outlander proved himself to be one of the Argenta's mightiest warriors, and due to the law requiring only the mightiest warrior can rule Sentinel Prime, when Novik passed away, the outlander took his place as king of the Sentinels as he was immensely powerful._

_Due to the ongoing invasions and civil war between the Maykr's reign and the people's duty to protect the Wraiths, those loyal to the oath conjured up a plan to go into hell and fight the demon hoards off._

_Unfortunately, the mission did not carry out well, and all but one Sentinel survived— The Outlander himself._

_The Demons he was up against deemed him too powerful, and, after a long battle, succeeded in capturing him in a sealed sarcophagus. Inscribed in demonic language atop the sarcophagus are the words "The Doom Slayer"_

You felt yourself seize up at the last sentence where his identity was revealed as The Slayer. You found yourself rereading the part about him being "King of the Sentinels"

"Fuck—" You whimpered, covering your mouth.

This... Can't be true... Can it?

The metal banging behind you stopped and instead was replaced with the sound of a door shifting open.

You stiffened as you heard Flynn hum out an "Aye, buttercup!" And his footsteps carried over to you.

You could barely crane your neck over to look at him, you felt obscene for getting angry at him for killing Marauder's when he was there to witness them all fall. They were his _own soldiers_ , too you just had found out.

His arm hooked around your body, "Whatcha up to?" He glanced down at the monitor, but thankfully Vega had cleaned up the evidence of you lurking.

You couldn't find your voice, you kind just let out a silent whimper. Thankfully, Vega had you back again, "There was another ARC broadcast, she just came to listen to it."

" 're is?" Flynn questioned, pulling you closer to his side, "Let's hear it, bud."

"Of course, now playing;"

**_> ARC Broadcast//:Log_04_ **

_This is the resistance network._

_Samuel Hayden's Earth Reconstitution Mission, or known to us ARC personnel as "Project E.R.M.", has taken a large leap forward in the recent week._

_He is inviting all survivors out there to come together and rejoice. Remaining running ARC facilities all over Earth will be hosting a stream broadcasting Samuel's first steps at rehabilitation as he gives his speech live in the Phobos moon Base._

_We advise you to join, further updates will come soon. Stay safe._

The two of you stood there dumbfounded, from all the information you've received today, you kind of just wanted to curl into a ball and scream, but, you played it cool.

"The bastard wants to repopulate Earth, huh?" Flynn hummed.

"It sounds... Sketchy." You admit.

He nodded in agreement, "Vega, can you get any more information?"

"Negative, files are off of my servers."

Flynn bit his knuckle, rubbing his chin. You stood there thinking for a moment, before blurting out, "We should go to Phobos, see what's up and what he says his plans are. Make sure it's not going to doom the 38% of people who are still actually alive."

Flynn squeezed into your side, looking down at you, eyes wider than dinner plates, "Are ya crazy? They ain't gonna let the Doom Slayer in! I can't just walk into an ARC facility."

"You're right." You muttered, "The Doom Slayer can't..."

"... But Flynn can."

He glanced down at you, "Whatdya mean?"

"They don't know who you are without the suit." You pointed out.

He shook his head, "Samuel freed m' from my sar—" He cut himself off, but little did you know, that just confirmed your fears that the entry was real.

"I meant— H' just knows what I look like."

You hummed, "Well, no one else does though, right?" You questioned.

He pondered the question for a moment.

Vega spoke up, "Also, this could provide crucial info on the third hell priest. While we are there you can plug me into the secondary servers and I can download all the content they have been hiding from me, I heard the ARC is currently investigating the UAC and extracting files from their computers."

Flynn grumbled, Vega persisted,

"And we still need to retrieve Dr. Hayden's crucible."

"Woah! Where'd he get a crucible?" You questioned. Flynn grunted against you.

"I... I'll think about it." He muttered, releasing you from his hold and wiping some motor oil off of his face that you somehow failed to see earlier.

He looked pretty tired. Maybe you should give him a rest.

Flynn then winked down at you, "Wanna go play some video games or somethin', buttercup?"

You smiled, recently, playing video games with Flynn has been your favorite downtime, especially when Vega purposefully lags his controller and lets you win.

With a smile, you nodded, it'd be nice to clear your mind, "Sure."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


	18. 18 | RETROSPECTION : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have an odd dream.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You yawned, pulling the cover up around your shoulder up higher. It's been a few days since your initial discovery of Hayden's re-population plan, and the three of you have been waiting for updates on the situation.

Mr. Taggart— That's what you've opted to call him when he acts grumpy— Hasn't given you a clear answer on whether he's down with you (and Vega's) plan to show up.

Anyways... Wow, the couch is really comfy right now, haha...

And... This blanket is warm...

And holding onto you?

Wait—

As you pried your eyes open, you soon came to realize that you were being spooned in Flynn's bed none other than by the man himself.

You turned your head over your shoulder to be greeted with his sleeping face near yours. Wow, he looked really... Peaceful.

He's always awake before you so you couldn't ever really catch a glimpse of him asleep.

Huh... Why do you...

Feel the need... To lean in...

And kiss his chin?

Oh, well, looks like you're doing it anyway okay welp—

As you wriggled to crane your neck and press your mouth just beneath his lower lip, it prompted him to grumble and dig his bizarrely cold fingertips into you more; which you very much just now realized were beneath your white t-shirt and prying at your bare skin.

You found yourself sucking in a breath at his wandering hands. Thank god they didn't go any higher than they were now; they were still holding on just above your belly button, but with the size of his hands, that still didn't leave much room between the rim of your pants and your chest.

Trying your hardest to readjust and calm the goosebumps on your skin, you settled back into the covers.

Flynn grunted into the back of your neck as he pulled your waist further into his lap. He was spooned so hard around you, it was kind of like you were sitting atop his thighs.

The sudden change caused a coo besides your head, making you look up to see Churro— Who has become a frequent addition to your cuddle parties— Fluffing up her feathers. Her favorite spot to sleep is either on top of Flynn's head, under your neck, or on your pillow.

Tonight, she had chosen to sit herself atop your pillow. You didn't mind, though, you had plenty of room even though she's almost a full-grown chicken now! She's getting big.

You screwed your eyes shut tight, maybe you could get a little more shut-eye, just enjoy this moment while it lasted.

Soon, you fell asleep into a light slumber. But, something in the back of your mind kept itching at you.

Oh well, you'll save it for when you wake up.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Psst, hey."

You felt Flynn shake your shoulder, "You listening to me?"

You blinked, "Wh-What?" You spoke, finding yourself in the kitchen.

"You're spacin' out." 

"Ah, sorry—" You rubbed your eyes, "What'd you say?"

"I said you were right."

"About what?"

"Everything." He spoke slowly.

"Everything?" You grimaced, "Explain?"

Flynn's hand slowly began squeezing your shoulder, "I... Killed them.... I killed them all."

Your brows furrowed, " _What?_ Flynn?"

"I'm a dirty, filthy, disgusting Earth human, arent I?" His fingertips dug into you.

"Flynn? What—? What is happening?"

"You don't even know what I want from you." He spoke, an unreadable expression on his face.

Come to think of it, everything was... Unreadable. You couldnt focus on his face for too long without it becoming distorted, you couldnt look over to where the cabinets were and correctly make them out.

Everything seemed a bit... Blurry. 

"Blurry is right." Flynn called your attention back to him.

How did he know that you were thinking that?

"You dont even know who I am and you just... Trusted me." His nails were digging into you now.

"Ow— Flynn, that hurts." You spoke, grabbing his wrist.

"I could have killed you in an instant if I wanted to. Ripped you out of your armor and shot you dead."

You looked up to him, frightened, "Why would you say something like that?" You tried to rip his hand off of you, but you found your fingers just went through him wrist like he was some type of ghost.

As your mind began to race, you started to feel a stinging sensation prying at your back.

You wriggled around, shifting your weight to try and make it go away. But, it persisted. In fact, it seemed to be growing.

"You can't even remember your own birthday. You don't know how old you are, even. Everything before that robot is a blur, ain't it?" Flynn was gripping your arm so hard you could have sworn you were bleeding.

You screwed your eyes shut, your face felt hot. 

What the _fuck_ is going on?

With a hiss of pain, you closed your eyes, hoping for the best.

The burning on your back was at an all-time high, and you felt cool, thick liquid start to drip down your torso.

Everything felt hot, you felt vertigo kick in and your knees buckled, making you stumble.

Wait— You aren't standing? You're sitting at the kitchen.

You opened up your eyes, gasping at the fiery scene of hell ablaze in front of you. Hurriedly, you grasped down to your stomach...

 _Blackness_.

Blood, it was _your_ blood. 

No... No, _why are you back here_?

This is...

It's a dream.

You felt your knees buckle as you fell to the ground, unable to keep yourself upright.

As your skull his the rocky floor of hell, you watched as a demon stomped by you, not even bothering to look down and attack; he knew you'd be dead in seconds.

The pain surged through your body as you began sputtering on your tar-hued blood. It dripped from your mouth and down your neck, onto the already bloodstained rocks beneath you.

You felt the ground leave you as your eyes rolled back in your head.

But then, as soon as it began;

Crisp air filled your lungs. You could breathe again.

As you rolled over to cough out the coagulated blood in your throat, you caught yourself shivering. It wasn't hot anymore, you were colder than ice.

You tried to open your eyes, but your bright white surroundings refrained you from being able to see for a moment.

You almost felt your chest constrict when your eyes did adjust, though. You were atop a medical table, blinding light shining down at you as wires upon wires were hooked to your bare body.

Wait, something was not right with yourself...

Your veins...

They were purple and blue, and your fingertips were turning midnight black, the same color that your blood was just a moment ago.

You tried to pry at the equipment strewn precariously atop yourself, but as you did, a metal hand caught yours.

"I don't advise that." A familiar icy cold voice chimed.

You shook out of fear, locking onto the singular cyan slit that made up the cyborg's face;

Doctor Samuel Hayden.

Oh no no no. _Fuck_ this dream.

His hand was suddenly at your face, covering your eyes and restricting your breathing.

His hand moved after what felt like years and slid down your neck and grasped onto your shoulder, it made a loud " _thunk_ " noise, shaking your whole body.

Now you were upright, standing weakly in your old Elite Guard uniform as Samuel held proudly onto your shoulder, Olivia Pierce stood beside you with a betrayed look on her face.

"She is going to be my second in command now, Olivia. Your continuous outbreaks and suspicious behaviors have deemed you unsuitable for such a position."

You looked over to Samuel, but not for long as his head swiveled to peer over at you.

As you turned your head quickly as to not get caught looking at him, you gasped at the scenery around you. There you three stood, atop the broken rubble of a building, watching as burning piles of former humans all melted together into a big charred heap.

Some of the humans down there were still _alive_. Burning to death and calling out your name with utmost urgency.

"S-Sam!" You wailed, tugging at his arm, "We— We have to help them."

He stood rigid, not even budging in the slightest. His head didn't even turn to look at you this time, "They're gone now."

"Samuel!" You cried, trying to pull him towards the few surviving humans.

He wouldn't move, "They don't matter." He spoke.

You looked away in defeat, spotting something in the smokey distance.

A blaring red portal.

You blinked a few times, each time it grew closer, but you don't remember moving.

Absentmindedly, you reached to clasp Samuel's hand like a lost child.

He was no longer there for you.

You tried to crane your head to look back to see if he was there, but the portal infront of you kept you entranced, somehow silently calling you to it.

You felt your feet slip, and before you knew it you had fallen straight into it...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Buttercup? Wake up." A new voice called out to you as you opened your eyes.

It was Flynn, this time you were in his bedroom. He had a distressed look on his face and was carefully running his fingers through your hair, "Hey, hey, let go of yerself here."

He grabbed your hand, which was clawing at your shoulder. You gasped and released yourself, "There ya go." He spoke.

You let out a whimper, your forehead felt wet with sweat and your eyes felt watery.

Flynn guided you to roll over so you were facing him instead of him spooning you, "Yah okay?" He questioned, pulling you into his chest slowly, "Did ya have a nightmare?"

"W-Wait." You pushed off of him, looking up to his concerned face, "Say something dumb so I know I'm still not dreaming."

"Uhh—" Flynn scratched the back of his head, "How will that help, though?"

"Because sometimes with the shit you say, I know damn well my brain can't come up with stuff that idiotic." You smiled up at him, despite the tears threatening to pour down your face.

He chuckled, despite the sad look still in his eyes as he cupped your face and hugged around you. Flynn hummed lightly, "Idiotic, huh?"

Flynn began to think for a moment, before speaking up— Anything to get you to stop crying. He knows how bad dreams are. "Yaknow the skeleton demons? Revenants?"

You nodded into his chest, trying not to get any tear stains on his t-shirt.

"Do yah think they have'ta brush their bones with like... Toothpaste n stuff? Coz y'know how we brush our teeth?"

You giggled, making him smile. Good, it was working, "Coz like our teeth are the only exposed part of our skeletons, so we ain't know."

"Okay, okay..." You concluded, "This is real... This is real." With a sad laugh, you hugged him tighter, "N-No way I c-could... Come up w-with that."

Flynn chuckled, vibrating your head as it was atop his chest. As his chuckle died down, he brought one of his large hands up to hold the back of your head, "Do yah... Wanna talk about it?" He noticed the breaks in that last sentence you said.

"U-Uh—" Your voice cracked, making your already reddened face flush more, "It's just bad memories, I'm okay."

Despite you saying that, you bit your lip as tears spilt down your face. Flynn didn't seem to notice, though, he couldn't see your face though.

You silently cried, until you wrapped your arms tightly around him and sucked in a breath.

Flynn let out a surprised "Aw shit", scooping you up into his strong arms.

No words were spoken, he shifted so he was on his back so he could pull you up into his lap and wrap his arms around your tiny form more, allowing you to sob into his shoulder.

He rubbed circles on your back and pulled you even closer to himself as the minutes passed.

You were on top of him at this point, sitting in his lap with both of your legs straddling his torso and chests pressed firmly together.

You had your arms wrapped around his neck and his hands trailed up and down your back. You kind of felt like a big baby; But you didn't care, you just wanted to be held, and held you would be.

His jaw rested atop your head and his hand was running in your hair. You began to calm down, but you weren't sure if it was due to exhaustion or his comfort.

Flynn's hands reached up to your face as he looked down at you, pulling away a little to clearly view your face. His thumb wiped away the silently falling tears, then he sat up to kiss your nose.

"You wanna get somethin' ta eat?" He questioned, "Get yer mind off of things?"

With a nod, you sniffled, "Yeah."

He smiled as you moved to get up off of him, but he wasn't having it. Two strong hands gripped at the back of your thighs as he sat up, then swung his legs over the bed to stand.

Without a struggle, he stood and held you close with one arm. Making you realize how strong he is, and how small you are compared to him. You felt yourself blushing again.

Flynn stretched a little bit, trying to low-key flex his biceps in your face, before strutting out of his room with you attached to his hip.

He began to walk, and you grabbed onto him for dear life, Jesus Christ you are way higher off the ground than you normally are.

As he walked up the stairs, his legs were so long he could go up two at a time. The movements of him jogging up the stairs you held on for dear life, a deep and gravelly chuckle taunted your antics.

With a glare over to him, you were going to sneer and call him a name, but the dreamy half-lidded smirk he was giving you made your words catch in your throat.

When you reached the top, Vega was standing there, looking either amused or jealous he was holding you so close. Flynn immediately blushed and slid to drop you.

"I see you two are awake." Vega greeted over to you as your feet hit the ground.

"Hey, Vega." You smiled, walking over, Flynn was not far behind you.

Vega took ahold of your hands as you walked up to him, squinting down at your face ever so carefully.

You knew the AI could read you like a book, so it was no surprise when he asked "It appears you have been crying. What's wrong?"

You blushed, looking down at your hands in his huge metallic ones. Flynn answered for you, "She jus' had a bad dream. Said she doesn't wanna talk 'bout it." His huge hand was then placed against your shoulder, letting you know that he was here for you, too.

Vega squeezed your hands and brought your attention up to him, "Dreams are usually significant, some are reflections of past trauma and scarring events. Talking about frequent experiences is a great way to de-stress and clear your conscious."

Flynn smiled up to Vega, he knew he'd help better than he could.

You started to consider it, finally giving in and nodding, "Okay... I... I guess so."

"Excellent." Vega pat your head.

Flynn piqued up, "Hey, whatta 'bout after breakfast we all sit down and talk about it, mkay?"

"Sure." You smiled as the two let go of you, going on their separate ways. You couldn't help but smile at how the two cared for you...

You sure are lucky.

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	19. 19 | RETROSPECTION : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Samuel Hayden has some heavy regrets.

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The past week has been _stressful_ , to say the least.

Integrating a demon into the workplace was... Well, quite... _Challenging._

The humans in the facility were _not_ happy with Ba'al's presence, even if he only was at the lab once in a blue moon to fix up his implant or to give info on the Slayer— Which hasn't been much as of recently.

That's what's been worrying Samuel. The lack of activity.

The only few interactions he's had face to face with the Slayer, he's had to shock him to keep him from grabbing ahold of his arm and ripping his circuits right out.

He worries that the same violence he shows towards everything else... He'd be showing towards you.

Not that you were some fragile little gemstone, Samuel knew that you were more than capable of defending yourself...

But against the _Slayer_ if he just did so happen to lash out?

A screech of terror followed by the intercom saying "Demonic entity level 7 entering the facility" ripped his thoughts away from him.

Samuel almost jolted to take action, but stopped once he realized that today, Ba'al had warned him of his arrival.

Just as he had suspected, when he turned around to the door of his office, he was met by the demon's piercing red irises, along with two on guard ARC soldiers.

Samuel waved the soldiers off as the Marauder let out a snarl, "Getting real tired of your babysitters, cyborg."

Said cyborg let out a chuckle, discarding the comment and taking a seat at his desk, where the former Sentinel mirrored his actions.

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Berituk spoke up, "I've been wondering... Why do you want your hands on [Y/— the Argenti?"

Hayden looked up from his hands, he would've glared down at him if he could, "What's the knowledge to you, demon? I thought we agreed to help each other, and that's it. You don't need to know my reasoning."

The two's relationship was... Complicated.

They didn't particularly like one another, but they were both after the same goal, albeit for different purposes.

Ba'al couldn't know about Sam's plans of upbringing the human race, and Samuel couldn't know about Ba'al's plan of becoming the next Sentinel King. If they found out, everything would come to an end.

"I wanna know why I'm hunting h— _It_ for you."

Samuel couldn't help but sneer, "Aren't you hunting _'it'_ for your own personal gain as well?"

Ba'al grimaced behind his mask, looking down to his hand clasped around the chair's armrest.

It was true... He needed to see you for his own reasons, but he couldn't just say that.

Samuel can't know of his plans, either— No one can, for a matter of fact... He'd be killed off within an instant.

He could feel Samuel smile down at him as he changed the topic, "What do you have for me? You usually don't set up meetings yourself."

Berituk inhaled, sitting upright instead of slouching over, "The Khan Maykr still doesn't know about our agreement, neither do any of my troop members. The last Hell Priest is still alive, for some reason the Slayer hasn't killed it yet."

"So it sounds like everything is going to plan, then?" Dr. Hayden tilted his head sideways, "Why did you call this get together then?"

Ba'al found himself tensing, looking up to the robot, "What happened to her?"

Oh, that caught Samuel off guard for _sure_ , "She... Wh-What?" He caught himself stutter, "What do you mean."

"It's nowhere. I looked at all of our records, scrolls, slabs, and everything. None of them mention her anywhere, yet Ranak said sh— The Argenti was of great importance before you took her."

Samuel would have been sweating if he was a human, but he calmly inhaled, "I'm... Not sure, either, unfortunately... My troops found her in hell, that's all I know."

Ba'al raised a brow bone, leaning over the table to eye the faceless robot, "Are you _fucking_ with me, Earthling?"

Hayden then stood, showing that he was not going to put up with Ba'als bullshit attempts at scaring him, "The fact you'd propose that is obscene. Do you not _trust_ me?"

Berituk stood too, his ridiculously sized horns standing just above Samuel, they would be more prominent if not for the curvature.

The two glared at each other, before the hell commander scoffed, "I'll be back later, bot. Since you have a bolt up your metal ass I'll find out myself."

Samuel watched as he disappeared in a huff of angry smoke. Slowly, he sat back down, letting out a glitched sigh and placing a hand on his face.

He had you rip everything out of Olivia's office long ago, there should be no way to access the files on his computer.

The only way anyone could ever know is if Olivia told them—

Samuel found himself growling out a curse, Olivia must have told them about you when she worked with the Deags.

He sat up, turning to the screen embedded into his table and pressing his finger against it, to unlock the contents within.

Carefully, he clicked on a few icons, finding a file buried deep within others titled " ** _USER//:OLIVIA PIERCE , FILENAME//:Nephalem_** "

He stared down at the report... God... Why... Why did he let Olivia report on you? If anyone even found these out he'd be dead.

He raked his fingers down the slit in his face, reading carefully the statements she typed up about you, " _A spawn of hell tainted with the blood of an otherworldly being_."

Just, everything about it made him mad. The fact that she... Did that to you... Even after he said not to...

He should have stopped her in her tracks. Her morals became questionable as _soon_ as they found out about the other side...

Hayden closed the tab, staring blankly at his backdrop.

" _Nephalem_..." He repeated lowly.

Slowly as the monitor timed out, photos began to flash on the screen like they normally do.

Usually, it was old pictures of Earth, the stars, and Mars's landscape, but this time— A photo of you and him flashed on his screen, almost tauntingly.

Quickly, he pressed against the screen to open the photo up, where did his computer dig up this picture from?

And... _How_?

His robotic throat somehow tightened, it was an article written about you titled " _RESISTANCE LEADER AND PRIZED ELITE GUARD LOST IN DEMONIC PORTAL_ ".

Samuel squinted at the title, skimming through the article for the hundredth time over.

_Elite Guard [Y/n] [M.] [L/n] was last seen charging through a demonic portal scaling at least a level 4..._

_Unfortunately, before anyone could see her return, the portal was closed off by Olivia Pierce, one of the lead scientists suspected to aid in the upbringing of the portal..._

_...It's unclear whether [L/n] made it to the other side unscathed, or where the portal opened up to..._

_...When questioned, Pierce explained that [L/n] was "...The ticket..." in her plan of "...Becoming one with the other side..."_

_...Dr. Samuel Hayden seemed outraged it had been closed, especially at the loss of the soldier..._

Samuel felt the rage bubbling up inside of him, and once he tried to calm down it did not work. He was angry that you could have such an emotional hold on him like this.

Not even _emotional_ , it could be the cost of his reputation, as well. (Like his reputation was crystal clear anyways...)

If you get in the hands of the Maykr's, they will know everything, and he'll be a pile of wires and argent on the floor in no time.

Samuel was standing there, spacing out by himself. He couldn't get his mind off how he felt like he caused everything.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You rolled over on your bed, yawning and burying your face into a pillow. Your alarm went off beside your head, making you grumble and move to slap at it.

As you slipped out of bed, you rolled your neck and shoulders before moving to shuck on your bright red Elite armor.

You were in the UAC Elite Guard. The Resistance— AKA Pre-ARC— Was just beginning to flower, with you at the top of their leads.

You were currently in charge of the Scientists and your other Elite Soldiers in the Mars Base. You were hoping to hear from Samuel today, the last time you got a transmission from him, he was still just on the outskirts of hell.

As you clicked your helmet on, the intercom within crackled on, one of the scientists calling you to the main room.

You smiled, Hayden came through.

With a strut to your step, you walked to the main laboratory, looking up to the screen to see Samuel Hayden's robotic face.

"Commanding Officer [L/n]." He greeted.

"Doctor Hayden." You nodded your head, you heard him chuckle as he looked around the hell camp he was in.

"I'm pleased to say... Everything has gone well so far." He hummed, strumming his fingers together, "I'm going to send more artifact drones to the extraction point. We have collected... Rocks mostly." 

You chuckled, "Rocks, hm? That's the most interesting thing you can find?" Crossing your arms, you teased him.

Suddenly the door shifted behind you, making you look over your shoulder. You grimaced at the arriving individual.

Pierce ran up to the screen, "Doctor Hayden." She spoke.

"Pierce." He responded.

"We're getting so close in our demon research to truly discovering what makes them maintain after death—" She spoke, "But... We need more research material. We... We need more demons. If you can retract more specimens and send them back on the extraction drones it would help."

You let out a disgruntled sigh. That didn't seem like a good plan, but, you trusted Sam. If we agreed then you would do your best to comply.

"..." Hayden contemplated, then nodded, "Fine." Was the only word he said.

Olivia smiled, "Thank you, doctor." She turned back to you, a sly grin on her face.

Eeugh, what a creep.

You looked back to Samuel, "Alright, Doc. I'll be sure to keep my troops eye up for a portal request and take care of the drones."

Samuel nodded, then looked a little closer to the screen, "Is anyone else there with you?" He questioned.

You looked around the room, then back up to him, "No. Why?"

He hummed, "Take off your helmet." Hayden commanded.

You scoffed, reaching up to unclasp the armor and look up to him with a smile. He seemed content at seeing your face.

Hayden sighed, "There you are." He spoke.

"Here I am." You smiled.

The two of you looked at one another for a moment, before someone spoke to the cyborg on his side of the screen.

He seemed unhappy for a moment before looking down at you, "I'm afraid I have to go."

"Oh!" You were a little disappointed, but nodded, "I'll... Talk to you later, then?"

"You better." Samuel snide, "Goodbye, [Y/n]"

"Bye Sam."

With that, the words **_[TRANSMISSION ENDED]_** displayed on the screen. You stood there for a moment... Holding your helmet in your hand, before shaking your head and popping it back on.

Time to start the day.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Within three days, hovercrafts showed up. You helped unload everything before waving off to your troops and moving to load everything onto carriers.

Samuel had given another transmission, he informed you that three people had been injured trying to capture and kill a demon for Olivia, however, they insisted they go on.

You glared over to the scientist who was marveling at the new specimens to work on.

Anger bubbled up inside of you. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A few more days passed by with not that much interaction from Hayden. You were beginning to get worried, last he spoke 5/9 of the soldiers he brought with him were injured.

You were woken up in the middle of the night by bustling in the hallways, making you groan and rollover.

The bustling grew louder, though. And you huffed to get up, only in a white tank top and grey sweats, swinging open the door.

You were immediately taken back, watching as armored individuals were being rolled down the hallways. Their armor was gouged, skin burnt, flesh torn.

The cogs in your brain worked for a moment... Where would they be coming from?

Until...

Sam.

Sam's mission.

You suddenly found yourself sprinting down the hallway in only your socks, a comical sight to anyone watching, really, as you slipped and slide.

However, you didn't care. Seeing how bad those guards were, you hope Samuel is okay.

As you made it to the extraction point, you looked around the room hurriedly.

Usually, a 9'10 robot was easy to find in a crowd, but you couldnt see him, making your brows furrow. You moved to the next room, which was a little calmer. There Samuel was, sitting down on a medical table. 

His arm was mangled, and his neck looked bad too, drips of blue Argent slid down his torso.

Without another thought you slid over, grabbing onto the end of the table as someone looked over him, "What happened?" You questioned.

Hayden looked over to you, he seemed happy to see you. Instead of replying, he reached over and cupped your face.

"Let me fix you." You commanded, Hayden complied as you got to immediate work on stopping the Argent leak.

After about 5 minutes you had it under control.

Samuel asked the other 3 scientists in the room for a moment alone, as you clearly knew what you were doing more than they did.

You chuckled when one of them asked under their breath, "Do we need a medic or a mechanic?"

"[Y/n]," Samuel spoke out again.

"Sam?" You questioned.

"We... We can't keep doing this." He spoke, "Every time we go into hell, men die." 

"You would have been fine if you didn't listen—" You looked over your shoulder to see the door closed, "If you didn't fuckin' listen to Olivia!"

"I know— I—" He sighed, "She's... She's onto something, though."

" _What_ is she onto? Mass extinction?" You squinted at the bot, he sourly chuckled.

"I... I try to do the right thing, you know." He muttered.

Your hands working the wound in his side slowed, looking up to his face, "I know you do, Sam."

He grunted as you began your work again, "I'm going to send her lead scientists to Earth." He blurted.

"...Oh?" You looked up to him.

"That way I can keep an eye on her, but also separate her team so it's increasingly difficult to further any demonic research." 

"That sounds like a good idea." You muttered, way too focused on fixing the small parts in his torso to actually listen to what he's saying.

"Can you feel this?" You suddenly questioned.

"Feel what?" He looked down to your concentrated face.

"Does it hurt when I fix your wounds? Can you feel me if I touch your hand?" You eyed up to him.

"Yes." Samuel reached his hand out and grabbed onto your bare shoulder, making you realize you hadn't got on the proper clothes.

"So you— You can feel me like that, then? You know what my skin feels like?"

"I do."

You let out a noise in contemplation, grabbing his hand and pulling it from your shoulder up to your lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

Hayden chuckled, he would blush if he could, watching as you stood upright and rubbed your hands onto your shirt.

Your once white tanktop was stained a dark blue due to oxidized argent.

With a sigh you grabbed a clipboard and began writing things down, "You'll need to be recalibrated. That much energy loss and exposed Argent isn't good, so we'll probably need to flush out the old stuff and put in some new filters."

"Recalibrated?" Samuel reached out to grab at the clipboard, but his hand went about a foot in the complete opposite direction.

You smugly looked up to him, "Mhm. Your perception of depth is probably off and you might be a little slow." 

The cyborg let out a disgruntled slur of words, standing, "How long will recalibration take? I can't—" He took one step and fumbled.

"You need an escort, big man?" You teased.

He stood still for a moment, a tiny "No." came from him as he began to take another step.

"Never seen a drunk robot before." You crossed your arms and leant back on the counter, enjoying the show as he tried to get to the door.

He looked like a newborn giraffe, limbs wobbling and knees buckling.

Hayden made it to the door, clasping onto it. He refused to turn and look at you, "Spare me my dignity." He muttered.

With a snort, you walked over and clasped onto his hand, moving to help him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Dr. Hayden, ready to release the package, sir." The scientist's finger released the button they were pressing, the 5th portal you'd go through this week.

More guards followed behind you clad in their white armor. As you waited for the command to walk through the portal. 

Your guards spoke to you through the comms, their voice booming within your burgundy helmet, "Commander [L/n], give us the good to go."

You nodded as a response, and without another thought, you were ushered through the portal. Your troops all followed suit.

Samuel sent you through the portal down to Earth for a reason;

Olivia's scientists he sent down here have been working on something. Pierce gave them each blueprints to mini portal gates, telling them to spread the word about the other side.

Hayden had tried to break her and her team up in an attempt to stop their interest, but it seems Pierce took it as an opportunity to expand.

This was the last base you needed to go to. You already destroyed the other five successfully. None of them were fully constructed, making it an easy task.

A buzz came through on the station's comm, the sound of boots echoing across the tiled floors was evident through the static, "Main Comm, this is Armed Carrier Unit Zero, come in."

The human looked over his shoulder at the cyborg standing by him. Samuel nodded, "Engage."

The human picked up the comm, "This is Main Comm, we hear you loud and clear."

There was an overwhelming amount of static, "There's—" The sentence broke from static, "There's something wrong. No one is here. There's no power. Do we reroute procedure?"

The Comm director looked to Samuel.

"Proceed." Samuel urged. He needed these all taken down, a little power outage shouldn't be a problem.

"Negative, proceed as standard." 

There was silence for a few moments, Samuel waited for some feedback but none came. Seconds spanned into minutes, he was so focused on the static that he barely registered the "Excuse me, sir?" At his side.

He looked down, seeing a scientist meekly holding a clipboard.

"U-Uhm, there's been some technical issues. Im not sure on which side, but we are unable to get to the cameras like you asked."

The cyborg only let out a grunt in response, waving his hand. He didn't care about stupid stuff like cameras.

The static crackled again, this time it was a different voice, "Main Comm, it seems there's been a leak in the Argent supply down here. Everything is incapacitated, over."

Then, another voice, "Main Comm, there's—" Static, "They're dead."

Hayden and the other workers around shared a glance, the director leant down and clasped the mic, "Come again?"

"There's... The scientists... Dead..."

There was a moment of silence, before one word managed to crackle through;

"Demons."

Samuel's fists clenched, "Ask them if they can see the machine."

"ACU-0, anyone have eyes on the machine?"

"Affirmative." A female voice spoke. 

You.

Samuel's nerves eased.

"It's— It's active." You spoke.

His nerves tensed again, reaching down and speaking into the microphone, "The machine is active?"

"Correct— It's fully constructed, over."

"Break it." Hayden commanded.

There was silence on the line.

"[L/n]." He spoke.

Silence.

He glanced over to a screen displaying conditions for each of the 7 guards and you. All of them were green. 

Green meant uninjured, yellow meant slightly injured, orange meant severely injured, read meant dead.

Hayden looked back towards the comm, a sigh of relief exiting him.

A few minutes passed and there was a sudden beep on the computer. The cyborg's shoulders shook with shock, half of them were yellow, and three of them were orange, and one was red.

Finally a voice spoke, "Hayden, there's... They're everywhere!" They seemed frantic, gunfire in the background.

Another beep went off, another red name.

Another voice, "Break, break! We need backup, we need—" The voice was cut off by a snarl, along with a scream and a devastating crunching noise.

Beep. Two red names this time.

Hayden stood, "Calibrate an extraction portal." 

The scientists nodded, scrambling to open up a portal as another name faded to red.

As soon as it opened, a very injured guard stumbled through, holding their stomach. His metal chestplate was curled back, exposing deep lacerations where his torso was ripped to ribbons.

The man didn't even have time to fall to his knees before a demon accompanied him through the portal, here to finish what it had started.

In one swift motion, the stout demon ran like a bull towards the soldier's back, piercing through whatever was left of the man's internal organs with its large tusk-like teeth.

Another red name.

The scientists watched, horrified as this happened. The only thing standing between them and the monster was a 5 inch thick wall of bulletproof glass.

One of the last names turned red, leaving only you and one other.

Hayden stood, waiting to see your red armor bolt through the portal. But, nothing came.

He waited a minute, and that one minute became 5, 10... 15.

Until finally, you threw yourself out of the portal, you were dragging another soldier along with you your knees and hands hitting the floor.

"Close it." Samuel spoke.

The scientists nodded and moved to turn off the portal.

The demon who was using the man's dead body as a chew toy turned around, eyeing your bright red armor.

You blurted out cursed that came through perfectly through the comm. You moved to grasp at your gun, the demon charged at you without warning and went straight for the soldier at your side.

The last red name.

You rolled to the side, knowing where the demon's weak point is and shooting it in the back. The pinky fell down within three shots.

With a grunt, you sighed and lied back on the ground. You heard the door shift and felt footsteps against the ground.

Hands were on your shoulders within a second. Your helmet was pulled off your head and your eyes met Samuel's face.

He looked down to your face, there was blood dripping from your forehead, and you remember two medics coming to your side before you passed out against the cyborg.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Doctor," A voice infront of him made Hayden look up from his work, "You told me to inform you when she woke."

He stood, "Yes" and began walking to the med ward without another thought.

The human hurriedly tried to walk after him and run through a diagnostic, but his long legs were too fast.

He was already at the door by the time the human caught up with him, "C-Commander [L/n] suffered from blood loss and needed stitches to her left shoulder. She also has a ripped calf muscle and torn ligament."

Samuel hummed, moving to open the door. Its been two days since you woke up, he just wants to see you.

He walked in the door, seeing you sitting up in bed, your shoulder and leg was bandaged, "Sam." You spoke, sitting up more.

Hayden walked over to your medical bed, awkwardly pulling up a human sized chair and sitting down, "[Y/n]."

"Sam—" Your voice cracked, opening your arms, well, as best you could, your injured shoulder didn't have that good of movement.

Hayden leant down and carefully held you in his arms, you wrapped your arm around his neck and pulled him close.

Your foreheads pressed together as one of his hands came to wipe at a tear that slipped down your cheek, "I couldn't save them." You whispered.

"I know." He muttered, leaning in slightly so your lips would press against his faceplate.

The stifled shock over in the corner made him crane his neck over to the three doctors standing there. They all froze, "Do you mind?" He questioned.

They all shoved out the door mumbling "They kissed! Did you see that?"

Samuel held you close again, giving you a quick peck before you pulled away, "Who made it?"

Hayden gave no response, you immediately grunted, "I...It's my fault. I threw the grenade to destroy the machine and that alerted all the demons that were there." 

"It's not your fault." Sam tried.

"No, but I do know who's it is." You snarled, moving to stand. You wiped your tears, it was no longer sadness, but anger.

"What are you doing?" He questioned.

"I'm—" You hissed as the weight hit your leg, "Gonna show that fucker Pierce—"

"[Y/n], you don't have any pants on." He spoke, watching you limp to the door.

"Fuck pants." You spoke, Samuel laughed standing, well so much for a tender moment alone.

He watched as you slammed open the door, limping with such determination. The doctors gasped, "S-Sir she _really_ shouldn't be up—!"

"There's no stopping her, unfortunately." Hayden looked down the hallway after you, he started walking with you, "Do you know where you're headed?"

You grunted, turning a corner and making your way to Olivia's lab. When you slammed open the door, only in underwear and a medical shirt, bleeding, angry, and probably a little high on anesthetics, it was evident something was wrong.

Olivia turned around, raising an eyebrow, before you stride across the lab floor, " _You_." you spat.

You immediately watched all of the color drain from her face, you suddenly leaped forward and used your good shoulder to slam her to the ground.

" _Do you know how many people I saw dead because of you?_ " You spat, suddenly on your knees besides her on the ground, bringing your fist up and knocking her straight in the jaw.

"It's all part of the pla—" You cut her off, slamming a fist into her mouth.

Onlooking scientists either froze, laughed, or videotaped.

Samuel stood in the doorway along with the three doctors as you pummeled the woman into the floor, the whole time she spew on about her plans on the "new rule", not letting your knuckles silence her for long.

Samuel heard someone yelp, "Someone stop her!"

He stood there for a minute more, before realizing, oh! He's the "somebody" that has to do "something".

Hayden walked over to you and grabbed your torso, pulling you into his chest and holding you like a big baby. You flailed, "Sam let me go!" You cried, but he payed no mind, hauling you off so the woman on the floor could wipe the blood from her nose.

"You really gotta think before you do stuff like this." He spoke.

"I don't care." You spat, "You should have sent her the fuck away when I told you to." 

"Now now." Samuel drug you back to the medical ward, you had popped your stitches and strained your knee too hard when you hit the ground.

As the doctor finished your new stitches up, Samuel moved, "Come on. Let's get you to your quarters."

You only muttered, pulling on some pants and limping out of the door after him.

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Samuel sighed at the recollection of events that started it all, that was one of the last times he seen Olivia sane, and one of the last times you and him could properly share a laugh.

Everything after that was just... _Terrible_.

Hayden stared out the window, he wonders where you are now...

Probably in the Slayer's hands as he wrung out your neck.

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	20. 20 | RETROSPECTION : V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Flynn discuss past events leading up to the present. Another ARC broadcast comes in, you must make a plan and act quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "another chapter so soon?" you bet your ass

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In the Slayer's arms you were, but Flynn wasn't busy breaking every bone in your body. Instead, he was busy setting up an elaborate mountain of pillows and blankets on the floor.

"So... What's this?" You questioned, unaccustomed to Earth's cultures and clichés

"It's a pillow fort. You mean you Argenti never even heard of these before?" He propped a pillow on his double-barrel shotgun.

Since there weren't any classic wooden chairs in the fortress, firearms would have to do. There were plenty of those.

"We adapted some Earth culture from our extraterrestrial expansions... But, no." You watched as he laid down a blanket and pat the spot next to him.

Slowly, you crawled in, being hesitant as to not knock down the loaded ballistas, "What's even... The point of this?" You questioned.

"Dunno. My mom would always make one wit' me when I felt bad." He shrugged, he seemed more giddy than usual.

You weren't angry about that, though, "Your mom!" You smiled, "You said you'd show me that picture of her, remember?"

He bit his lip, "Fine. But only coz I'm in a good mood." He slipped out of the fort, making his way to his quarters.

When he returned, he daintily handed you a ripped photo of a woman holding onto a blonde child in front of a stagnant blue background.

You looked at the woman for a moment, before looking down at the young boy she was holding onto. He had bright blonde locks and a cheeky toothless smile.

You found yourself smiling down at it, looking up to Flynn, "You were a blondie?"

His cheeks flushed, but you played no mind as you grabbed ahold of his stubbly chin and held the photo up to his face.

Sure enough, the boy looked just like him, making you snicker and smile as he replicated the goofy grin he had in the picture.

Then, your eyes traveled to the ripped off bit, making your hand slip from his chin solemnly, "What was it like?"

"Hm?" Flynn tilted his head.

"I never knew my parents." You looked up to the man, who suddenly had a sympathetic look in his eyes, "What were yours like?"

Flynn bit his lip, "Well, I ain't really know my pops. My mom though, she was amazing. She would do all the things a mom was supposed to do. Y'know, made me soup when I was sick, raised me up big an strong, paid for m' football camps as a runt. All'a that."

He looked towards your melancholy face, leaning over and plucking the photo from your fingers, trying to get the sad look off your face, "Don't be sad though, buttercup."

You smiled at him, "How could I be?" You fluttered your eyelashes unintentionally, "I have you guys now."

Oh, he wasn't expecting such genuine sweetness from you, making his face flush once again.

Vega walked up in front of the fort, "Holy fucking shit." He suddenly blurted, making you snort and Flynn's eyes widen.

"Huh?" Flynn called over, grinning, "Bud— What? What'd you say?"

Vega motioned to the guns propping up the pillows and blankets, "This is extremely unsafe, especially since neither of you are armored."

Flynn shrugged, flicking the giant machine gun beside him, "What can be so bad about—" It fell over with one meek flick of his, it was facing the other direction thankfully, but it still fired off a few unexpected shots right through the wall.

You jumped up and grabbed ahold of Flynn's very large arm muscles out of fear, he instinctively wrapped an arm around you at the loud noise, protective as ever.

Vega motioned towards the bullet holes, repeating Flynn, "How _bad_ can it be?"

Flynn groaned and began dismantling all his hard work as you crawled out of the teetering structure. You giggled at the sudden sassiness Vega had shown towards his best friend, uncharacteristic of him to go off like that around you.

With a hum, you turned towards Vega, who had a bowl of popcorn in his hands. You snuck a piece and shoved it in your mouth. Vega pretended not to notice, despite your lousy attempts to reach underneath his arm to grasp at the kernels.

He lowered the bowl for you, so you could grab the popcorn easier. You flushed, not realizing he noticed your struggles, "Oh, thanks, Vega."

"Affirmative." The AI put the bowl in your hands, moving to properly set up the pillow fort as you shoved popcorn in your face.

Flynn returned from putting the firearms away, grabbing a handful of popcorn, and also eating some of it.

Vega stood and glanced over to you two, "Unfortunately I still have some things to do, I will be happy to join you later though."

You puffed out your cheeks, you wanted to spend more time with the boys together, but that's okay. Vega pat your head in apologies, then moved to go up the stairs.

Flynn stood rigid at your side for a moment, eyeing down at you, before plopping down and making himself at home underneath the fort.

You followed suit, wriggling in behind him. The two of you huddled up underneath the tent, awkwardly trying to get comfortable but maintain distance, trying to pretend like you didn't wanna cuddle.

After a few moments of stifled silence and uncomfortable shifting, trying to get comfortable without being right up against one another, Flynn gave in and slipped an arm around the back of the pillow you were leaning on, "You wanna tell me what's been on yer mind?

You bit your lip, humming. The whole reason why you came down here was to try and ease up on your nightmare about last night, but you had a lingering feeling that you wouldn't be able to shake it.

"Sure." You smiled over to him.

He took note of your delayed response, looking down at you with tentative eyes, "That didn't sound too enthusiastic, buttercup."

You found yourself blushing as he soaked in your facial features, you couldn't help but bite your lip, "Can I ask you something?"

Ah, Flynn had a hunch it was about him, he heard you mutter his name a few minutes before he woke you up... Huh, he wonders what your dream was about, maybe you'll tell him, "Sure thing."

"You were a Night Sentinel, right? But... You aren't an Argenta, like me. You're an Earth human."

"Uh..." Flynn nodded, he thought this was about your dream? Not this conversation again.

"I've only read about one person being let into the Sentinels that wasn't an Argenta... The Outlander."

"And they became... _King_... King of the Sentinels." You muttered, "So if my math adds up..."

Flynn found himself biting his cheek... You found out, "How'd you uh... How'd you find out?" He questioned.

Your eyes widened, "S-So you— You _were_ king?!"

"Listen—" He grabbed onto your hands to find them shaking. Flynn sighed hard, "Look, I didn't wanna say anything because I knew you'd react like this. I don't want yah to treat me any differently, ok?"

"B-But you— How'd you become king? I— I don't understand." You looked down to your hands in his large palms, his thumb ran over your knuckles comfortingly.

"After Novik died, yah know how they choose new kings. The mightiest warrior is chosen ta take their place." He let his hand slip around your shoulders again.

You embraced the contact, letting him pull you into his side and curling to wrap around him, using his left pectoral as a pillow.

With a hum, you melted right into his touch. Flynn felt you comply with the snuggle session, making him let out a breath he didn't know was caught in his lungs; you didn't freak out or think differently about him.

He let out a low chuckle, making your ears hum as they pressed against his chest, "I thought this was 'bout your dream though? Or... Was that it? Coz I heard yah say my name a few times..."

You balled up a wad of his shirt in your fist, finding your face flush a deep shade of red as you remembered the first half of your dream, "I-I said your n-name?" Oh my god, how embarrassing.

"Yeah. It was pretty quiet though." He bit his cheek, " 'S what woke me up. Were you dreamin' about me?" He grinned down at you teasingly. Feeling a bit cocky, Flynn reached down and gave your butt a good pinch; making you squeak and blush, smacking at his grabby hands.

You blushed at the innuendo he was suggesting, "N-No it wasn't— L-Like _that!_ " 

"Well, that's dissapointing." He joked, winking at you, amused at your coy reaction, "Tell me 'bout it buttercup."

You cleared your throat, rubbing your ass where he had just dug into your sensitive skin with his fingertips. He attempted to replace your hand on your butt, making you glare up to him. He giggled like some kid, just fucking around.

"I-It was vague." You spoke, "It was about my time in the Guard, though."

Flynn's giddy mood dropped suddenly as you spoke about it, he hated anything to do with Samuel.

"Actually, come to think of it... I can't remember that much before I was a soldier for Hayden." Your brows furrowed, "I knew I was a Sentinel— That's for sure... But... Everything in-between that and being an Elitist is a blur to me..."

Flynn looked down at you, a concerned chuckle passing his lips, "You sure it's jus' a mild concussion?"

You laughed lightly, "No, I mean— I couldn't figure it out even before all this."

"Talk to me 'bout it." Flynn pulled you closer into him, getting into optimum cuddle positions for vent time.

"During my years as a commander on Earth in survivor bunkers, I had a lot of time to myself since Samuel wasn't busy bossing my ear off. I... I could never figure out how long it was in-between me being a Sentinel and me being in the Guard. It drives me nuts."

"You worked on Earth?" Flynn questioned.

"Yeah. Just before I..." You stopped, catching yourself frowning, "Before I lost my whole crew."

Flynn placed a hand on your shoulder, just letting you know he was there for you, "Wanna talk about it? How'd it happen?"

You felt anger bubble up inside of you, "Because of that damn robot!"

The sudden aggressive outburst made Flynn stifle a laugh, "H-Hayden?"

"Yes, Hayden! That mother fucker wouldn't let me go back down to rescue my own damn squadron because he was afraid of a few demons! I took on demons three times his size and the dickwad is afraid of one fucking cacodemon!! He's so selfish! I lost so many fucking good people over him— I—" You let out a groan of anger.

Flynn watched in amusement as you badmouthed the scientist, squeezing your shoulder again as reassurance to continue.

"Ugh..." You sighed, "And then I was so pissed off, I ran through a fucking hell-gate." You laughed sourly, "I was so fed up with these demons I decided that I was gonna go in and ' _stop them myself_ '. Yeah. That worked out great."

"What?" Flynn was honestly surprised to hear you say that. He knew you were powerful and determined, but that was the next level. Hell is no joke, and he should know from experience, "What happened on th' other side?"

"I... I found Valen... He told me that there was no one left... And... I kind of just lost hope." You admit, starting to draw circles on Flynn's chest with your finger out of habit, he hummed into the tingling feeling it gave in his stomach.

"After a long while of waiting and nothing happening, Valen said he found something. A portal's signal. "

"I was excited. It was finally a way out; but when we made it to the portal, it opened up on Mars." You hummed at the recollection, "I was terrified. There was a demon there I'd never seen before, like an arachnotron, but... Bigger."

"I acted on fear, everything was covered in demons, demons that knew who I was, demons that were after me. An-And there was no way I could take on that army, or that... _Thing_ by myself."

"I found an escape pod and... I left." You were honestly quite disgusted in yourself for doing that, but what _could_ you do? "And then on Earth, I went to one of the closest UAC bases I could find to try and contact anyone."

"But then the demons came after me. I could have sworn they followed me from Mars. Hah... I think I went crazy sitting in that URF." You rubbed the back of your neck, "I figured out it was the Deags looking for me though... But I couldn't do anything because... That's when you found me."

You smiled over to him, not realizing that you almost spilled your entire life story onto him.

Flynn grunted, "Pierce." He spoke.

"H-Huh?" You rose an eyebrow, "Olivia?"

He nodded, "The big spider was Pierce. She opened up that huge portal for the demons, yah must've run through it. I don't blame you for ditching, though. I hate spiders." He chuckled but stopped when he saw your bewildered expression.

"H-How was that... Olivia?" You questioned.

"She... Tried to make a pact with the hell priests or somethin'. In return, they turned her into a huge ass demon."

You blanked for a moment, staring off into space. Flynn caught your sorrowful and confused gaze, deciding to try and distract you with a quick kiss right beneath the jaw.

That _sure_ did wake you up, making you look over to him with blush dusting your cheeks again. That has started to become a sight that Flynn loves to see.

"Wazzat yer dream?" He questioned, "Or..."

"Oh—!" You got completely fucking sidetracked! Good job!!

"My dream was just about Hayden being an asshole. And being in hell and the Deags finding me. Just typical nightmare stuff." You waved off his concerns.

"Hmm." He scratched his chin, "That doesn't sound like it had anythin' to do with me... Though?" He muttered into your ear, providing another grab on the butt.

You glared up to his sly smirk, punching his shoulder hard, "I told you it wasn't like _that!_ "

He winced, pulling up his shirt sleeve to reveal a huge scar on his bicep, "Look what you did ta me!" He joked, but you genuinely took interest in how old and faded the huge gash was.

You reached over, sitting up a little to graze your fingers over it, "Woah, how did you... Get that?"

Flynn huffed, "I got punched by an angry lil gremlin."

You squinted at him, "I thought we agreed that name was banned."

His grin twisted into a teasing one, "Oh, sorry _, gremlin_. I could'a sworn we also agreed that you'd stop callin me ' _Blow Job_ ' coz my middle name's B.J., but look where we are."

You rolled your eyes, "I would never call you such a heinous name, _blow job_."

He smiled, an evil look in his eyes, "Why I oughta—"

Flynn rolled over so he was smooshing you, putting all his weight onto you.

" _Flynn—!_ Nooo!" You beat your fists on his back, making all the air knock out of him as he coughed.

He sat up over the top of you, trying to glare down at you intimidatingly, but it didn't look scary at all because he was forcing himself not to smile.

You stuck out your tongue at him. The two of you fought and teased eachother like little kids.

"To answer your question; I got shot, ta put it plain 'n simple. Here's the exit wound." He suddenly sat up, getting off the top of you to peel off his black T-shirt.

Your breath caught in your throat as he leaned back down a little so you could see the scar parallel to the one on the other side of his broad shoulder. You sat up as well so he wouldn't have to be at an odd angle, slowly reaching up to run your finger against it.

Then you realized how _littered_ in scars he really was, some new and pink while others looked grey and faded. It just added to the whole "strong badass" vibe he had.

You found your fingertips fluttering over each one, asking if he had any stories behind them. Most of them he had stories for, while others he just shrugged.

He laid back and allowed you to look over him in his most raw, vulnerable form; an experience no other living thing could ever get the chance of doing.

He smirked up at you as you talked, questioning about the various gashes and indents in his skin.

Flynn suddenly brought a hand up to your cheek, wrapping his fingers around the back of your head and running his calloused thumb over the flush of your face. You were taken aback by the sudden movement but weren't opposed as you leaned into his palm.

He mumbled out something, but due to the sheer gravel and hoarseness of his voice, you weren't able to decipher what he said. He released your head and booped you on the nose, "Yer turn." He smiled.

You blushed, "O-Oh." You watched as he sat up, motioning for you to shuck off your oversized hoodie.

"W-Well, I don't have too many scars." You did as he commanded, tugging off the clothing until you were just in your bra.

You were muscular, but nowhere in comparison to the behemoth of a man that Flynn was.

You had a few scars in normal places like scattered along your arms and knees, and some in odd places like on your thighs and back of your neck.

Flynn traced his hand along with the scars, nowhere near as many as he had. But, they were still significant. The intent attention he was providing your unclothed skin made you a bit squeamish and nervous. But as the time went on you gradually leaned into his touch.

He shifted so he could look at your back now, following a scar that traveled down your shoulder, when his eye caught one of the biggest scars yet.

Down your back was a huge gash, spanning from your right shoulder down to your left hip. The wound looked deep, making him wince, "Woah, buttercup. Where'd ya get this one?"

You bit your lip as his fingers trailed down the edges of the scars, he moved your bra straps to glance at it better, making you tense up as goosebumps sprouted on your skin, "I... I can't remember."

Flynn let out a confused grunt, "Yah can't remember where you got something... _Like this?_ "

You shook your head, "I've had it ever since I woke up in the Lazarus Labs."

Flynn leant down so his bare chest was on your back, making it so you fould see his face over your shoulder, "So you... Really don't remember anything before Samuel got his hands on you?"

You looked down to your feet.

"Ain't that seem... I dunno, _sketchy_ to you?" Flynn raised an eyebrow.

Meekly, you nodded, moving to pull on your hoodie again. He caught the sudden mood change that you had.

He did something without thinking, wrapping his arms around your stomach and leaning down so his face was in the crook of your neck.

You froze, why's he being so affectionate— And _flirty_ — Today?

His hands lingered for a moment before he pressed a kiss to your shoulder, just above the scar, " _If you ever find out who did this to yah..._ " He growled into your neck.

Holy fuck— Okay, this was... Hot.

"I-I— I know, F-Flynn—" You whispered out.

He realized what he was doing, awkwardly pulling away, his face a bright red. Oh man, if he was that red, you wonder what you looked like right now.

You pulled your hoodie back on, and Vega's approaching footsteps were heard, but they faltered as he stumbled.

The sight of Flynn having ditched his top and his arms around you made the AI a little reluctant, it made something inside of him churn. However, he brushed it off.

Sheepishly, you grinned up to the AI as Flynn tugged his shirt back on and Vega made his way over to the TV, setting a flat cardboard box down beside Flynn, "Have you two even _started_ a movie yet?"

You pressed your pointer fingers together, coyly giggling as Flynn shook his head no. Vega groaned and picked one for you, somehow fitting in the fort beside you.

Flynn let out a "Fuck yeah!" Prying open the box Vega set down, as the movie started. He offered you a piece of... _Pizza_ you think it's called? You've had it once or twice on Mars.

It was alright, but as you took the first bite into this slice... Man, it was _way_ better than any Mars food you'd ever had.

Flynn, who ate one slice in 3 bites, heard you let out an "Mmm" as you ate. He elbowed you, "Pretty good huh?"

You nodded, watching the movie that Vega put in. You reached for another slice of pizza to find that Flynn had somehow already eaten all of it except 2 slices.

Brushing off the fact he is a living food vacuum, you found yourself leaning into Vega. His robotic plating wasn't cold, nor was it burning hot, it was warm, adding to the eerie humanlike ambient and characteristics he had.

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Halfway through the movie, you were curled up onto Vega's chest, enjoying the warmth he was providing while staring at the screen.

Taggart was being all pouty since you were leaning more on Vega than him, but you couldn't help it, he was like a heater.

Vega, on the other hand, was eating it up. Glowing a bright blue and holding you as close as he could without jabbing you with his pokey metal bits.

You were falling asleep, like a lizard on a rock in the sun, or a bunny under a heat lamp, when Vega suddenly shifted, "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm receiving another broadcast from the Armored Response Coalition."

Flynn looked down to your sleepy face as you tried to wake yourself up, you couldn't help it okay, Vega was warm and snuggly— Especially for a robot.

"Alright. C'mon buttercup." Flynn stood up, Vega shifted and snuck his arms underneath you and hoisted you up into his chest as he stood.

You flailed, not fully awake and confused as to why you were now flying. He chuckled as you grabbed onto him, heading towards the elevator with Flynn leading the way.

As you made it to the hub, Vega dropped you lightly because you wouldn't stop spazzing and it was hard to keep ahold of something as little as you. As your feet hit the ground you stumbled, Vega catching you and chuckling. Whoops.

Flynn walked up to the screen, pressing play on the recorded message;

**_> ARC Broadcast//:Log_05_ **

_This is the Resistance Network._

_Samuel Hayden's plans have started in full swing, with the crucible in his hands he deems nothing is impossible._

_With the Slayer's aid in destroying the largest Super Gore nest, the demon hoards have been easier to keep at bay, bringing a rising hope to humankind._

_On his announcement plans, they have been scheduled for tomorrow at 12 PM, Western Mars time. We advise you to listen in, it can provide crucial information on supply drops and survival tactics._

_We can get through this._

_Stay safe out there_.

"T-Tomorrow?!" You looked over to Flynn, who had a scowl on his face at the mention of the crucible blade.

"Ugh." He ran a hand over his face, then without warning, nodded his head, "Fine— I'll go."

Your eyes lit up, grabbing ahold of his arm sleepily, "You will? What changed your mind?"

He looked down at you, the scowl slowly rose off his face seeing you gaze up at him with droopy eyes.

"Samuel took the crucible. I need it." He looked up to Vega, "But we're gonna need a plan before we charge in there."

Vega nodded, "I understand."

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	21. 21 | IMPETUOSITY : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You, Flynn, and Vega attend Samuel Hayden's ERM campaign ceremony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of POV alternating between sam , reader , and flynn  
> also , HELLO ? what is with these everyday updates ? WHO AM I 👀

[the reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/624128545410760704/oh-my-god-i-love-it-the-way-you-draw-hair-is-so) by trash-mcturdbag

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"Okay. Remember the plan." Vega pat your shoulders, looking over to Flynn, who seemed nervous to be going into a ARC reside base.

"I will." You smiled up to him, he handed you a girthy USB stick to which you promptly shoved into your pocket along with your pocket knife and pistol.

It felt weird, wearing street clothes while walking through a portal. You were disguised as a scientist, clad with a lab coat and fake ID card and everything, courtesy of Vega.

Flynn had was wearing a security guard uniform that he... Somehow had his hands on? It was branded in ARC logos and everything, oh well.

The two of you exited the other side of the portal, now standing in an elevator within the ARC complex on Phobos. Flynn stood rigid, shoulders tense.

You reached over and grasped ahold of his clenched fist, which he immediately unclenched and slowly laced his fingers with yours.

He looked down at you, you offered a kind smile. Flynn attempted a smile back but he looked a bit disgruntled.

The two of you looked back towards the elevator doors as it slid open, leading down an ominous hallway that was poorly lit. At the end of the hallway was a large cafeteria door with foggy windows.

Flynn and you crept up to the doors, peering in to see a large announcement hall. At the far end of the room was a stage, appropriately branded in ARC logos. Presumably, Sam would be broadcasting from here.

You squinted at the people sitting at small tables scattered across the large stadium, noticing that they were very well dressed.

"Shit." You whispered, looking down at your disguises, "Were not dressed appropriately."

Flynn looked to the people within, biting his lip. He was already nervous, so this wasn't sitting well with him.

Just then, the elevator behind you lowered and shifted open.

Out came a stumbling couple, a little _too_ intoxicated.

They were dressed in formal wear for the event, but as soon as they caught sight of you, the drunken male pointed a finger up, "Hey! Y...You're not sssupposed to b-be here! This is the b-back entry f-for... Executives o-only!"

The female standing at his side giggled, clearly drunk too.

You and Flynn eyed one another, a silent conclusion being drawn amongst yourselves.

"Wh-What's with that l-look?!" The male tried to threaten, but you and Flynn drew your pistols, pointing them at the couple who immediately stood down.

A few moments later, you finished tying the two up in a supply closet, now wearing their clothes.

You tried to be nice and offer them your clothes so they wouldn't be sitting tied up only in their undergarments, but they were both so drunk they were slurring their words and couldn't even properly take off their own clothes.

They probably won't remember what happened they'll be so hungover in the morning.

You looked over to Flynn, who's borrowed suit was uncomfortably pinching around his muscles. It was definitely tailored to fit the scrawny 5'11 scientist rather than the buff 6'9 soldier that Flynn was.

The suit was black with red undertones, a fitting color palette on him, you thought, despite snickering at how short his sleeves and pants were.

Your dress was um... _Showy_ to say the least.

It was a plain black dress, but it was a 2 piece, showing off your midriff. The top was a halter cut but had a slit to show off your cleavage. The bottom was almost like a pencil skirt, except it was cut in the middle of your thigh and had slits in the sides to show off more skin.

The dress was _definitely_ not fit for a curvy female, leaving it to be snug around your bust and hips. But, thankfully, the female was wearing an over the top olive green coat with a fuzzy hood in which you could wrap around yourself.

Flynn eyed you over as you pulled on the coat, his face was a light pink, and you knew yours was too.

You sheepishly smiled, "You uhm... You look nice." You complimented.

He bit his lip, fuck you were... _Beautiful—_

"Y-You ah... Look real cute too, buttercup."

You flushed, then remembered the task at hand. You cleared your throat and shoved your pistol into the jacket's pocket.

Flynn shook out of it as well, uncomfortably wringing out his tight collar. He reached down to open the door, but the movement strained the suit so badly the buttons popped open.

You giggled as he flushed, reaching up to his chest to help him button them back up and readjust the tiny clip on bowtie around his neck.

He couldn't take his eyes off you, and when you glanced up to his face, he caught your eyes. The two of you stood there for a moment, one of your hands on the back of his neck, the other on his shoulder.

Flynn fumbled, but he brought his hands up to grip the coat around your shoulders, pulling it up over you more, as it was so big it was slipping off.

He then brushed a piece of your hair out of the way, grinning down at you meekly as you pulled him down and pressed a kiss to his stubbly cheek, "We got this, okay?" You reassured.

Flynn inhaled and nodded, looking at you with hope in his eyes. Both of you were snapped out of it when there was a gag in the corner of the room, looking over to see the dude lean over and upchuck.

You and Flynn looked over in disgust, exiting the supply closet, awkwardly waving to the passed out drunk couple wrapped up in rope.

Now that you were ceremoniously dressed, you could continue.

Flynn walked back over to the doors, slowly pushing them open despite his nerves screaming for him not to. As the two of you walked into the crowded room, no one batted an eye at you two.

Flynn was used to people breaking their necks to look at him, so being able to walk into a room of people and go unnoticed?

He... Kind of...

Loved it?

You took the ID card out of the woman's pocket, reading her name and quickly finding the table for two that was reserved for her and her boyfriend. The table was thankfully out in the middle of the crowd so you weren't on the outskirts or front where Samuel could spot you.

Just as you and Flynn sat down, the lights dimmed. The crowd hushed as spotlights shone brightly on the stage. The large screen suddenly sparked on, showing a picture of a healthy-looking Earth as heavy footsteps echoed through the room.

Samuel made an appearance on the stage, the crowd clapped at his arrival, however you and Flynn sat motionless, glaring at the cyborg's presence.

"As you all know..." He began, "We have all made huge discoveries and advancements recently. And it's thanks to all of us here in the ARC that this is possible."

Hayden began talking about how the ARC was going to be "The future of mankind" and how "Our names are going to be written in the history books forever".

You saw Flynn clenching his jaw. Underneath the table, you grabbed his hand and pulled it onto your thigh, rubbing your thumb over his tense knuckles.

The small contact seemed to put him at ease, but he was still glaring up at the bot.

Samuel continued with his spiel until he let out a low chuckle, "But now. Now, with the destruction of the Gore Nest..."

He raised his hand, the crucible flying into his palm from somewhere offstage. He extended the blade, showering the room in bright red lightning.

Flynn growled at the over the top display, Sam really was one for a dramatic presentation. Self-absorbed asshole.

Out of anger, he gripped down, making you slap his wrist for squeezing onto your thigh so hard.

He sheepishly apologized.

The crowd went wild, cheering loudly as the shower of sparks died down. "Now we can rise up!" Samuel continued, "With this crucible, we have unlimited Argent Energy at our fingertips! We can power whatever we need. Think of all the possibilities."

You tuned out Samuel's monotone voice, the USB in your pocket buzzed. Shit, that's right. Vega needed the files.

You bumped Flynn with your elbow, motioning towards the drive in your hand, "We should probably get going once he says what his plan is."

He nodded, you two had already heard enough of Samuel's narcissistic bantering and it's only 20 minutes in.

Suddenly, the ARC guards standing around the edges of the room began speaking into their comms. It was low and muffled but...

"926-Q 10-65"

You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to remember what the codes meant...

 **_926_ ** _\- Hostage situation_

 **_Q_ ** _\- Unable to locate suspect_

 **_10-65_ ** _\- Criminals known to be armed and dangerous_

Shit. They found the people in the supply closet. And they were apparently awake enough to coherently explain what had happened.

Your heart dropped, looking over to Flynn, who must've not heard it or not understood what the codes meant.

The guards started to walk in-between the tables, speaking to families and couples seated at each one. It was only a matter of time before they reached the middle of the room, they had you surrounded.

Flynn noticed them closing in on you, and you grabbed ahold of his elbow, signaling for him to duck down low beneath the table.

He did as followed as you weaved underneath and through the tables, him having a little more of a rough time since he was so broad-shouldered.

You made it to one of the exit halls. The two of you cracked it open, slipping out into the dark corridor, only lit up by a few blue mood lights here and there.

The earpiece in your ear crackled on, "Don't let this deter you. The Centralia where all data is stored is just a few sectors to the right, the USB stick I gave you should upload things fairly quickly."

"Alright... Thanks, Vega."

"Affirmative."

You pulled out the USB stick, looking over to Flynn, who had a worrisome scowl.

"You okay?" You whispered over to him.

He looked down at you, nodding. Oh, he was doing that thing where he gets really intense on missions and looks angry but is in reality just hyper-focused on saving the world.

You found yourself gazing up to him for a moment too long, admiring the man before you. He always seemed to try and do the right thing, and once he set his mind on something he wasn't going to get pulled back. No way, no how.

He always knew what the first step forward was, and how to keep on moving forward from there. You admired his work ethic and determination.

You opened to say something more, but two armored guards rounded the corner, spotting you.

"Hey!" One of them yelled.

Shit.

You shoved the drive back into the jacket pocket. Flynn's muscles tensed up.

"Why are you guys out here? Hasn't the briefing started?" They questioned, walking up to the two of you.

Flynn stood still, not uttering a word, which cued you to make up an excuse, "Oh! I just forgot my bag in my office. He was just coming with me to grab it."

The two guards looked at one another, then shrugged, "Alright. Why don't we guide you, miss?"

You and Flynn locked eyes, then you shrugged, "Why not."

The four of you walked down the large main hall, Samuel's face was being broadcast to all the screens along the walls, and his monotone voice echoed through the speakers.

"The air raids have proved to be substantially useful in controlling the demon hordes in major cities." Samuel's voice echoed through the facility. Ah, so it was his raids you saw down on Earth.

Flynn glared at each passing one, why is him being angry... Kind of attractive? Okay nevermind. Don't think like that.

Vega spoke up in your ear, "Turn right here."

You grabbed ahold of Flynn's elbow and guided him right with you. The guards followed.

Samuel then sat the crucible down on a podium, two nervous employees wheeled it off elsewhere.

Flynn looked down to you, silently asking if you saw what he just did. You shook your head no, ' _Don't do it'_.

Vega spoke up in your ears, "I advise you do not try to retrieve the crucible now, for you are not armored, and vulnerable. However, if that's what you'd like to do, I have the location where they keep it. Unfortunately, it's approximate, as I am still not connected to these buildings since my core was destroyed."

Flynn's arm suddenly slipped out of your grasp as he abruptly stopped and planted a small kiss on your forehead, "I just remembered. I left somethin' too, buttercup. Can we meet up back here in a bit?"

You gave him a worried glance, but nodded nonetheless, trying not to blow your cover. Flynn smiled sweetly down at you, consolation.

The bulkier of the two guards shrugged and followed after Flynn as he turned on his heel, turning down a corner with one last wink towards you.

God, you hope this idiot wasn't going to be... Well, an _idiot_.

The soldier next to you grabbed ahold of your arm, "C'mon princess. Let's get you to where you need to be."

Oh, of _course_ , you got the creep.

You grinned regardless, "Thanks."

The ARC guard continued to guide you, holding onto your arm. Vega spoke into your ear again, "Right. Then two lefts."

You hummed in acknowledgment, following the directions as the hallways got tighter.

"You work in the special containment wards?" The armored individual besides you questioned.

' _Containment wards?_ ' You furrowed your brows, but as he pushed open the heavy metal door for you, you realized why they were called that.

The walls had bulletproof glass cells, each holding various demons in test tubes, seemingly frozen in time due to cryopreservation.

You realized you'd been boggling at them for too long, "Y-Yeah." You nodded, a little to hoarse, "Sorry, I-I'll never get used to seeing them." You joked, trying to ease up the suspicious answer.

"Eh, don't worry about them, princess. Us ARC soldiers are plenty enough to hold 'em back." The male laughed, what an egotistical asshole.

Is this what you were like as an Elite Guard?

"I'm sure of it." You smiled, however, it was laced with venom.

The soldier seemed to bulk up at your "compliment", holding his shoulders a bit higher.

As you made it to the end of the hallway, you attempted to take the final left, but got stopped when the male let out a "Woah there..."

You stopped, turning back to him, "Yes?"

"You can't go in there without an ID, princess. It's off-limits."

"Well, my ID is in my bag..." You lied, biting your lip.

"You work... In the Data Centralia?"

A bead of sweat dripped down the back of your neck, "YYYes."

He stood there for a moment, before his helmet tilted down, then back up. Oh, he was checking you out, nice.

The armored male shrugged, "Alright, little lady." He swiped his badge, the door opened up as you slipped into the room.

It was eery and quiet besides the churning of all the huge machines within.

Vega spoke into your ear, "It doesn't matter which one, just plug the port into one of the transformers."

You nodded, walking up to one of the CPUs, there was a computer screen embedded into the center-most one, prompting you to go up to it and look for an outlet.

"Hey. I don't see your bag anywhere, princess." The guard behind you called.

You brushed him off, finding a port and quickly clicking the USB in. Vega's icon popped up on the screen, along with a loading bar.

The guard saw, grabbing ahold of your arm and pulling you back, "Hey what're you doing?!"

You fell into his chest plate, quickly shoving yourself off, "What's your problem?!" You seethed.

"Where's your bag? I need some identification." He wasn't being lenient this time.

You reached for your pocket, trying to fish the fake ID Vega made for you. You grasped ahold of a card, not bothering to look at it before you handed it to him.

The soldier plucked it from your fingers, eyeing down at it before muttering, "Is this some type of joke?"

You peeked over the top of the card, shit. That's the wrong ID. You bit your lip as he realized it was the woman in the supply closet, "Wait a minute—"

"I'm sorry." You called, taking a step back.

He looked up to you, but before he could send in a report for you on his comm, you swiveled and kicked your shin underneath his legs, a tactic you learned being a Night Sentinel.

He fell on his back, you ripped his helmet off, punched him once to make sure he was out and took a step back.

You kind of felt bad, but what could you do?

You looked at the upload bar on the computer, 45%.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flynn walked alongside the soldier as Vega directed him to the artifact room. Samuel Hayden suddenly began signing off, meaning you had to act fast. Fuck, he didn't even catch what his plan was.

But that's okay, if you're doing what Vega asked and downloading all the files for him, then he can just look through those.

However, now with Samuel prowling around, and all the people exiting, he needs a better disguise.

Flynn looked over to the guard. He was almost the same height as him... Probably a little wimpier, but...

_His armor would fit..._

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You heard Samuel's voice signing off outside, whispering a "Fuck!"

The bar was only at 56%, making you strum your fingertips against the side of the CPU.

Slowly but surely, the bar went up at the same place as Samuel Hayden ended his event. Finally, Vega's icon re-appeared on the screen, "System online."

"Vega!" You smiled, "Wait, how did that work? I thought I was downloading stuff to bring back for you?"

Vega chuckled, "I have my ways."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flynn grunted as he shoved on the clammy ARC soldier uniform. Damn, this guy was disgustingly sweaty.

Speaking of the male that was in the armor moments prior, Flynn propped his knocked-out body up in a bathroom stall, hopefully, a little more concealed than the supply closet.

This is the most uncomfortable he's been in a while, a tight suit on underneath bulky loose armor.

Oh well, it's worth it. For the crucible.

He made his way out of the bathroom. Oh boy, there are people everywhere now. Samuel finished, huh?

Vega spoke up within his helmet, "Greetings. I have been successfully uploaded to the system."

"Good job, bud." Flynn grinned, you did it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As Samuel walked off the stage, a nervous ARC guard walked up to him, "D-Dr. Hayden."

The cyborg glanced down to him, "Yes?"

"Uhm. We're detecting a security breach. We found two restrained individuals in a s-supply closet, and two of our guards have gone offline." The Elite Guard spoke slow, watching as Samuel's cocky demeanor turned angry; the lights along his body started glowing a darker blue as more Argent was dispersed through his mechanical body.

"And... I-In the Data Centralia, several files have been ex-extracted."

At that, the angered robot began marching towards the artifact room to retrieve the crucible, ready to defend what he had to.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flynn finally made it to the door of the artifact room, god how he's waited for this day to come so he could rub his victory in that robots stupid ass face.

As he reached his hand towards the door, heavy footsteps rounded the corner behind him.

"Dr. Hayden is approaching you," Vega warned.

He turned around, seeing Samuel Hayden down the hall, followed by a few Elite Guards.

Flynn readied the blaster at his side, but was taken aback as all the robo-bitch did was side-eye him and push past, into the room behind him.

That's right... He looks like a regular ARC soldier... He's not the Slayer right now...

He looked down at the gun on his hip, then realized which room he just went into FUCK!

"Dr. Hayden has retrieved the crucible. I think he is aware that [Y/n] has altered the main CPUs. I am guiding her out of the Data Centralia now."

A rush of adrenaline ran through Flynn at the news. Samuel, now carrying the crucible, and his guards made their way towards the direction Flynn had just come from.

Without thinking, he followed behind them, walking like a soldier and holding his gun against his chest like the others were.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Uh oh, looks like you have company. Dr. Hayden has detected our presence." Vega suddenly called as you unplugged the USB and shoved it into the jacket's pocket.

"Wh-What?!" You cried.

"No worries, there is ventilation hatch at the top of the room. You will be able to fit."

You looked up to where he was talking about, jeez, that was 15 feet in the air, you can't just super jump up there like you've seen Flynn do before, "Is there another way out?"

"There is a maintenance door, but, there are guards on the other side of it as it leads out into the open. That way is ill-advised."

You grunted, "Vega I can't make it into that vent."

The familiar sound of Samuel's heavy footsteps were getting closer.

You bit your lip, looking for the maintenance door within the large room. Aha.

With a hesitant falter to your step, you pulled open the heavy door, barely slipping into the room before Samuel busted through the doors.

Scientists looked over to you suspiciously, you brushed a few [h/c] strands of hair out of your face and cleared your throat, walking down the hall as nothing happened.

"Vega." You whispered through your teeth, "Where's Flynn?"

"Oddly enough, he followed Samuel into the Centralia—"

" _What?!_ " You blurt out, making passing people look at you oddly as to why you were screaming at yourself.

Vega hummed, "He is wearing ARC armor, he's disguised; it's you we're worried about."

You bit your lip, muttering another slew of curses that Vega found quite amusing.

Suddenly, the room flashed crimson, "Demonic entity level 8 entering main facility."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Samuel stopped scanning the room, watching as it flashed maroon as well.

Fuck, he doesn't need this right now.

"You keep looking for the intruders... I'll deal with this."

Hopefully, it was just Ba'al...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Flynn watched as Samuel left the room.

"Go through that door, [Y/n] should be on the other side."

Flynn shoved through the crowd of Elite guards, some yelling after him as he walked through the side door and into a large hallway.

He spotted you down the hall, jogging to catch up with you and grasp ahold of your arm.

You squealed and flailed, not realizing it was Flynn till he grabbed the back of your neck and pulled you close, leaning down so you could see his familiar eyes through the red visor.

"Flynn!" You muttered.

He nodded, unlatching the helmet and lifting it up just so he could speak to you, "Yeah. We hav'ta get outta here. Robo-bitch is hot on our trail."

You snickered at the name, nodding as Flynn clicked the helmet back on and turned the corner with you.

He slipped you into a nearby side room as Vega opened a portal and the two of you fell through.

Flynn peeled off the helmet and grinned down at you, you smiled up at him as well, "D-Did you get the crucible?"

The Marine shook his head, but didn't stop smiling, "B-But you got us online to the ARC _and_ UAC servers again, buttercup! And ya downloaded so many files!!"

"Aww," You felt your cheeks flush, "I only plugged in a hard drive."

"That doesn't matter. You did it." Flynn grasped your waist, heavily armored hands almost making you stumble.

Without thinking, you leaned in and hopped up on your tippy-toes, pressing your lips against his broad cheekbone.

He blushed hard, suddenly stumbling on his words as Vega walked up behind you two.

You slipped out of Flynn's grasp, walking over to the AI who gingerly clasped your hands in his.

"Are you injured?" He began his routine check-up, stopping when he unzipped your jacket to find the revealing dress underneath.

His circuits surged for a moment as he took a step back as his hands recoiled.

Huh, that wasn't very Vega-like. He was usually calm and collected...

As Vega regained his composure to finish checking up on you, you heard him mutter out a, " _You look... Nice_."

You found yourself blushing, "Oh... Thank you..." Then let out an "Oh!" and dug into the bulky jacket's pocket, retrieving the USB.

Vega took it in his hand, standing straight up, "Thank you."

"Uh-huh!" You smiled, as Vega turned to walk towards the hub.

You eyed over at Flynn, who had shucked off the armor, revealing he had ripped the arms off of the suit to show off his biceps, classic.

With a roll of your eyes, you caught him blushing over at you, still unable to shake the swarming butterflies in his stomach. All from a kiss on the cheek.

He could totally take another one, though.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


	22. 22 | IMPETUOSITY : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al-Berituk finally gets what he wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry , had to do it to 'em

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ba'al-Berituk growled, storming out of Samuel's office.

Does that asshole think he can just brush him off and lie to his face? Just because he's "working" for him or whatever now doesn't mean he likes the guy and will put up with his shit.

The hell commander has already looked through all the known writings and literary pieces in all of D'nur.

Argent D'nur was now swarmed with demons; Prime harbored most of the resurrected Sentinels.

The Marauder winced at the screech of metal on metal as his portal closed behind him, walking up to the Deag who was standing above the Coliseum, overlooking the battling demons below.

The hell priest startled, looking over to the demonic warrior, "General."

"Grav," Berituk spoke back, watching as the sickly man fumbled with his shaking hands.

" _Nevas tu sur baertik?_ You usually don't have that look on your face." Deag Grav pointed out the scowl on the Marauder.

Ba'al rolled the pinpricks within his sockets, "You're the most knowledgeable one around here, old man." The demon propped an elbow on the railing beside him, "I need to ask something."

"Well," Grav began, " _Serit latia, evix._ "

"What is with the third Sentinel?" He questioned, tired of asking.

The priest stroked his chin in thought, "It's... Confidential." He spoke, "No one must know of it."

" _Nevas?_ " Ba'al stood upright, that must be why he couldn't find anything on it, "You keep things from me when it is my job to know? Will you atleast tell me why it is a secret??"

"To understand its origins you must know the full story... But this is no suitable place to talk." Deag Grav looked up to the warrior, "I'm afraid I cannot speak on it."

Ba'al grit his teeth behind his mask. Well, as long as he was going to get somewhere. That's what counts, right?

"What do you want from her?" Grav inquired, "Isn't the Slayer keeping heavy arms on her?"

"It's none of your business." The hell commander snarled, laced with venom.

Ba'al stood straight up, "Find me when you're done doing... _Whatever_ this is." He motioned down to the demons down in the arena, "You know where I'll be."

The Deag nodded as Ba'al-Berituk turned on his heel, walking down one of the large corridors. Many twists and turns later, he made it to the Sentinel quarters.

Berituk, to say the least, might have been a _bit_ self-absorbed. His personal quarters were one of the nicest rooms in the sector— Well, maybe that's because he's Khan Maykr's second in command and best warrior against the Slayer...

But, something just didn't feel right to him about serving her.

He walked into his quarters, slowly reaching up to his face to unclasp his mask, the implant on the side of his head throbbed.

Thank God his mask and horns combined to cover it; no one could know.

His armored hands gripped the side of the countertop he was leaning on rather hard, making his knuckles numb.

Berituk was anxious, a feeling he's never experienced ever since... " _Dying_ ".

Nothing has been the same since that day of the ambush.

In his dying breaths, he swore his allegiance with the Maykr's in hopes of a second chance at life as most of his fallen brethren had done.

Although he was sure he was long dead when they finally reached The Divinity machine; he remembers the feeling of his blood boiling, skin burning, the sounds of his screams.

When he stumbled out of the horrid device, he remembers the Priests around him gasping. They immediately saw something in him. He was determined by a force strong enough to move mountains... _Vengeance_.

The Khan Maykr and the Deags praised him as he defeated foe after foe, quickly rising to the top of the Sentinel army. He watched more of his once human brothers fall, turning into what he was now— Marauders.

The Khan Maykr fueled the fallen warrior's hunger for power, his need for things to be put right.

However, what she didn't know... Is all that anger was directed towards her and her stupid priests.

Ba'al swore his alliance on a false promise. It was a punishable offense, but why would he suddenly side with something he had so much hate for?

Each time he disobeyed the Maykrs, he was sent to the divinity machine to be "Purified" in hopes it'd correct his behavior. Each time he went into the machine hurt more than the last.

The Marauder looked down to his hand, clenching it as he remembered his latest go round. What was this, his 7th time in the machine?

Although his hatred for the creature that is the Khan, never once did he find himself siding with the Doom Slayer, either.

He doesnt know much about the man, but what he does know is that hes no Argenti. And he killed... He killed so many of Ba'al's kind.

Earth Humans are a worthless and cumbersome race, and Slayer was no better than them.

So, hearing the Slayer had risen up to fame when he should have righteously had the throne... Things would have been so much different if he hadn't died that day.

Neither of them— Khan or Slayer— Are fit to rule over theArgenti. The Sentinel people need someone that knows what they're doing... Like Ba'al-Berituk himself.

He was already second in command, besides the Hell priests, but they wouldn't be too much of a problem.

He watched as the Slayer chopped of the Deag's heads one by one, they were weakened with each priest that fell. The Khan Maykr shook in her boots, and soon he'd be the only one left.

But... What is a king without his queen?

Berituk's mind wandered back to you. You were the only one fit to rule with him, a _true_ Argenta.

He hopes you remembered him...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ba'al sat in the dining hall, conversing with two other Marauders, Akridon and Teivel, he recalled their names to be.

He didn't need to eat anymore, but sometimes it was just nice to catch up with someone.

Berituk looked over his shoulder, hearing the voice of Grav. The Deag waved him to follow, making him grunt and rise from the table. It's been a day since he asked him to talk to him, maybe he'll come through.

He waved to the other two Sentinels, which saluted the general in return. Berituk walked over to the sickly old man, " _Sur baertik n'ar?_ "

"I have made some time out of my day to talk to you. Come with me." The priest led the unamused commander down a large corridor, stopping in a large room with bookshelves and slabs everywhere.

Grav sat down at a table, Ba'al reluctantly followed, he's been getting tired of all these sit-downs.

"The _Nephalem_." The Deag began, "I have contemplated. My days are limited, I must pass the burden of knowledge to someone else. And since you are so hungry for said knowledge, you will receive."

"Do you remember when you were... Re-birthed?" Grav questioned.

Ba'al looked back up at him, furrowing his eyebrows, "I do."

"Do you remember how you died?"

The marauder snarled out a, "Yes, I remember. You killed me! You brought your two demons and attacked us in hell! You told us that since we were against the Khan that made us pigs! And you slaughtered us like we were some livestock."

"I was giving you _traitors_ a chance to redeem yourself for the Khan Maykr! I gave you a new way of life!" He waved his hands to the Marauder, motioning towards his form, "I put you in the divinity machine and you came back out stronger than you were before!"

" _Traitors_?" Ba'al stood.

The priest stood too, despite not being able to size up the massive demon at all, "I tried to give her a new life as I did you, but... Something went _wrong_. Just... Just like the prophecies."

" _What_..." Ba'al squinted, "What the _fuck_ are you talking about, Deag?"

Grav suddenly recoiled.

He's said too much.

He knew that he was going to get punished for almost blowing the cover, "I-I don't know. I know nothing about them other than that." He began hurriedly shambling away.

Ba'al turned to watch him hobble, "Wait—!" Ba'al reached an arm out to grab ahold of him, but the terrified Deag teleported away, leaving the marauder standing there angrily.

Hayden _better_ fucking explain.

Ba'al's tired of going to person to person, hes about to just start punching.

Berituk snarled, opening a portal to Samuel's office. The annoying ass automated announcer called out the repetitive "Demonic entity level 8 entering main laboratory" to announce his presence.

Instead of seeing Samuel, though, he was met with 2 frantic looking guards and 1 scientist. The three humans stopped dead in their tracks at the arrival of the demon.

Ba'al glared down at them, but his attention was grabbed when he heard Samuel's robotic footsteps echoing down the hallway.

The Hell Commander started walking towards Hayden to meet him halfway, gritting his fangs and balling his fists, "You better start talking, or I'll fold you like tinfoil."

The three humans immediately cowered, fearing that they were going to get caught up in a fight between the two.

Samuel was taken aback by the sudden confrontation, not expecting Ba'al to shove him.

The cyborg stumbled, "I advise you not to _push_ me in my _own_ facility."

Samuel walked past him, purposely bumping shoulders with his armored one, "We can talk on this later, I have things to do now." He walked over to the humans, "What do you have for me?"

Ba'al-Berituk was not happy with just being disregarded like that. He walked up behind Samuel, hand on his axe handle before he heard the human speak up;

"W-We have located the armor from the guard in the b-bathroom." She held up a tablet with a red location icon... Out in the middle of space?

"Also, th-the guard we found in the Data Centralia has recalled his attacker was a [h/c], [s/c] f-female."

Samuel and Ba'al froze at the description of the attacker.

The two looked to one another.

"Good work." Samuel praised, "I'll send out a team to see where that is. There is no recorded planet there, and it's too close to Earth to be the moon so—"

"I'll go," Ba'al spoke up.

The four looked over to him. Samuel seemed to think for a moment, before nodding his head, "You are the most capable. If it... Is who I'm assuming it is... Then the Slayer will be there."

"I've taken him on before," Berituk recalled.

The humans seemed suddenly terrified, while Samuel seemed interested.

"I'll have my team calibrate a portal." He held his robotic hand out to Ba'al, which hesitantly clasped it in his as they shook hands once more.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You brushed out your wet hair with your fingertips. You had just gotten enough time to shower, it was only a few minutes ago you left the Phobos base.

Walking out of the bathroom, you went and sat down next to Flynn on the couch, who immediately slung an arm around you at your presence.

"Hey, wet dog." He smirked. You rolled your eyes, opening your mouth to protest when Vega's voice suddenly called down, "Flynn... There's seems to be a demonic presence within the Fortress."

Flynn's grin was wiped off his face, the arm around your shoulders gripped harder for a second before he stood up. "Stay 'ere, buttercup."

He placed a kiss on your forehead and tapped his cheek for one in return. You compiled as he stood and strut over to the stairs.

Flynn went to the armory and pulled on his Praetor, "Where's he at, bud?"

"It says he is in one of the off buildings."

Flynn nodded and made his way down the small staircase before heading out into the open void of space.

Thankfully there was a protective layer around the fortress, almost like its own ozone layer or force field, that allowed there to be gravity and oxygen. So, you didn't need a spacesuit if you wanted to come out here.

The Slayer made his way over the broken bridge and to the small building. From within it was glowing a subtle red, and as he made his way in, he figured out why.

There stood the same fucking Marauder, clad in his soot-black armor, cape fluttering in the wind as his battle-axe showered the room in red.

Flynn grabbed the combat shotgun on his hip, hoisting it up to point at the circling demon.

You, however, didn't listen. You stood up and ran to the hub, trying to find anything that could help you defend yourself.

Two hands were placed on your shoulders, making you yelp and move to fight, but it was just Vega, cross that you didn't listen to what Flynn had instructed you to do.

"Why are you up here?" Vega questioned, "You need to be somewhere safe. Not out in the open." 

You tried to protest, but Vega was surprisingly strong and threw you over his shoulder without a second thought.

With a groan, you looked out through the window to one of the buildings attached to the fortress (that you're realizing you've never been in) to see the flash of guns shooting.

That made you anxious.

Flynn knows he got at least 5 clear shots on this asshole, but he wouldn't fall. He can even _see_ the bullet holes in his chest, but he wouldn't go down.

Normally, the Marauder usually has some spiel to tell him, but he looked... Angry.

The demon got the Slayer so his back was facing the gaping hole in the side of the building. He held his arm out, riot shield up, and suddenly dashed at Flynn.

All this asshole knows is cheap shots, huh?

The Slayer stumbled on his footing but pushed back against the shield. However, the giant Marauder kept coming, and Flynn's boots slipped and lost traction as he got closer and closer to the edge.

The Marauder peeked around his shield, "Stay down." He snarled, giving one last shove as Flynn fell backward and out of the building, into the void of space.

The demon looked towards the main building, you were probably in there.

His heavy footsteps could be heard as he traversed the long bridge connecting to the fortress.

Thankfully, there was a ledge at the bottom of the building. Flynn grasped a hold of it just in time and hoisted himself upwards, grunting out a few curse words.

Vega provided a portal back up to the hub, and he could hear the demon's footsteps beneath him.

Speaking of Vega, he sat you down on Flynn's bed, "Stay here."

He moved to leave but stopped when he heard you shift to go with him.

"I'm _serious,_ [Y/n]."

The cold tone he used made you freeze and sit back onto the bed. He walked over and cupped your face, prompting you to lean up and press a kiss to his face.

"Thank you." Vega left, and your eyes traveled to the guns on the wall.

You grabbed one, it was bigger than both of your legs and thicker than your torso, but you managed to raise it. Figuring out how it worked was another thing, though.

There were Sentinel markings along it, making a wave of nostalgia flow over you, but you couldn't read them anymore.

Your vision of your time in the Sentinels was clouded with burning hellfire and screams of the innocent, so you never bothered trying to remember.

They were bad memories.

Looks like you're going to have to use the weak-ass pistol since you can't read anything on the other guns...

Vega stepped out of Flynn's room, walking up the small staircase to come face to face with the demon.

He raised his brow bone in confusion, looking over the robot before shrugging and bringing out his axe.

Vega, who might have known a day where he had to fight would arrive, came prepared. A plate on his back opened up and out sprung two guns over his shoulders, and a compartment on his wrists slid open, revealing a blade.

The Marauder seemed surprised but engaged in battle anyways, getting shot a few more times than before.

He finally managed to get close enough to the AI and grab of one of the guns, swinging his axe up at it to detatch it from the swiveling socket.

Uh oh, that's not good.

Vega got a few more shots in before the gun was ripped off, he slashed the blade, slicing the marauder against the torso, but he caught his arm, ripping at it, too.

Then his torso was being ripped at... The demon was rutheless and left gashes and gapes in the body's main wiring, until it was so torn up the main control unit was exposed.

"My physical platform has been defeated," Vega spoke into the Slayer's helmet as he barreled down the stairs.

"Fuck, where is he?"

"Near your quarters," Vega informed.

"Thanks, bud."

"Affirmative."

The demon made his way down the hallway he saw Vega come from. As he tried to open all the doors, it was evident Vega was keeping them closed, which led him to start hacking at the metal with his axe.

On the other side of the door, you stood still in shock.

It was...

Right outside...

Unless Flynn was being an asshole and trying to scare you—

 _Nope_ , definitely not.

There was a hole in the door now, big enough for a hand to reach though, and just that happened. An armored hand reached through to grab at the door switch on the other side.

You brought the pistol up to shoot, hitting the demon's shoulder. The arm recoiled in pain, and _oh my god_ now you wish you wouldn't have done that...

A piercing red iris peered through the hole as the demon knelt down to look at you. The Marauder let out a dark chuckle and stood back up.

It was silent for a split second, before two horns jabbed through the door, ripping the metal apart like it was tin foil and not 5-inch thick steel.

The horns retracted, and with one hearty kick, the cut out part of the door fell.

You swallowed hard, aiming your pistol up and hoping for the best as the familiar demon knelt through the entrance he created for himself.

He stood there, looking you up and down before striding forward with ease. You steadied your hand and shot him, once, twice, three times in the legs.

You knew for a fact that it went right through his armor and hit his flesh, but he did not even slow down.

You aimed for his head and pulled the trigger again, but all that came out of the pistol was a weak " _click_ ".

There was no more ammo...

The demon was now standing toe to toe with you, looking down at your frightened face. He brought his hand out, but you took the back of the pistol and slammed it into his face mask.

His head barely even budged, and you hit him so hard the pistol's handle was bent and malformed.

Fuck!

Flynn's heavy footsteps ran up behind you, ducking into the door and aiming his ballista at the demons back.

You moved to run to Flynn, but the demon grabbed you, pressing your back against his chest as he held you in a chokehold, pointing his shotgun against your head.

Flynn's alert shoulders fell, seeing you being threatened... His guard was down now.

The Marauder motioned to the ground, signaling that he should drop his weapon.

You shook your head wildly, mouthing " _Don't drop it, don't drop it please,_ ".

However, Flynn slowly lowered the gun despite all of his nerves screaming not to.

The demon against your back said something, your whole body vibrated with the baritone of his voice, but it was so low and garbled from his mask you couldn't figure out what he was saying or who he was talking to.

You tried one last thing, biting the exposed bicep flesh on his arm.

Flynn watched as you pathetically did so, a portal fabricating behind the demon and you. You weren't even sure if he could feel his own skin since the bullet holes through his torso haven't even phased him.

The marauder definitely felt it, grabbing your hair and pulling you back up, but making sure to keep a gun against your temple as he backed into the blue portal.

Vega and Flynn took note of the portal's color... That's not right...

Flynn felt rage building up inside of him seeing you being pulled away from him, and there was nothing he could do...

He stood there as you disappeared into the gateway, shooting him one last pleading look as it closed...

Silent...

The fortress was silent again...

Empty...

It felt empty without you... Even though you've only been gone a split second.

And for some reason... Flynn felt empty too...

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta:
> 
> "What do you need?"
> 
> "Say it, then."
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "You need me?"


	23. 23 | IMPETUOSITY : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al-Berituk speaks with you, and Samuel tells you of his plans... However the two are definitely leaving some details out.

[doomguy being doomguy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/624753986590982144/ive-done-it) by xxqueenxeno76xx

[ba'al-berituk and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/624808779672928256/holy-shit) and [samuel hayden and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625028277212430336/this-is-so-fucking-beautiful-the-amount-of-details) by mieramsteinner

[doomguy and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/624899723241865216/i-huggy-anon-gives-you-my-first-fanart-hope-u) by huggy anon

[flynn and his buttercup :)](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625028054070198272/whgsjhsjshwjhgjhj-this-is-so-fucking-good-he-could) by jameslacheese

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your eyes adjusted as the scenery changed from the dark interior of the fortress to a blinding white.

The demon holding you dropped the weapon as soon as the portal closed, but continued dragging you elsewhere.

You couldn't get proper footing beneath yourself, you figured out you were about 2 feet in the air, so all you could do was kick your bare feet around and hope you hit him.

His chokehold loosened on your now bruised throat, and his arms came to your shoulders to hold you against his stomach as your heels hit the cold floor.

The demon leant down and ushered out a slur of... Apologies?

The blinding white light wasn't a norm for hell's usual smoggy atmosphere, but you couldn't figure out where you were due to the tears fogging your vision.

The Marauder spoke again, and you felt him start to lead you somewhere. In a moment you felt a soft cushion against your back as your knees bent. He sat you down in a chair.

He seemed to hesitate on what to do; he slowly reached his hand out to grab your wrist as you rubbed your eyes. You hissed like a stray kitten and pulled away, snapping your eyes up to his face.

He looked... Hurt? 

The glowling orbs in her sockets were a soft amber, different from the firey red they were a few minutes ago.

There was obviously something he wanted to do, but he knew you were mad that he kind of just... Ripped you away from your... Home.

Ugh! He hates that fact you consider yourself at " _home_ " with The Slayer.

You hiccupped, watching his expression soften as he slowly brought his hand up to your wrist again. This time, you didn't pull away, entranced at the fact you thought you... _Recognized_ his face.

His large hand— And you mean large, his hand had to be as big as The Praetor suit's gauntlets— Clasped around the back of yours, pressing your own palm against your cheek as his fingers stroked the back of your knuckles.

Hm, baby steps. This is alright. As long as he's getting somewhere.

You were still shaking with fear, unaware of your surroundings and unprotected, but you just had this gut feeling that... That he wouldn't cause you any harm despite the fact he kind of um...

Kind of already did?

With the realization that he already _had_ harmed you, you pulled away a little. He seemed to notice, so he let out a growl as he stood, allowing you to get a clear view of where you were.

It looked like an office of sorts, very futuristic, and almost like Samuel's old place... Hah—!

Can you _imagine_ if a _demon_ brought you to _Samuel?!_

Whew! You'd lose your mind!

The Marauder, whose back was turned to you, swiveled around and clenched his fists as he eyed down towards you.

You suddenly tensed up, not ready for whatever was going to happen, but...

He spoke, " _Tu sur xaren n'ar?_ "

All you could do was stare.

He seemed taken aback by this, "Do you speak Argenta?"

You gulped, somehow coming to your senses as you shook your head.

"Do you remember me?"

You shook your head again.

"No?" He repeated your answer.

"I—" You could stutter out the right words, "I remember you... T-Taking my armor?"

He grimaced, " _I didn't know it was you in there..._ " He muttered, then shook his head, "No. Before that."

"B-Before that?" You seemed to relax seeing his shoulders droop.

"Yes, you don't—" He stopped, "You can't... Remember me?" He pointed up to the Sentinel markings engraved in his chest plate. You inhaled, remembering the armor to be some sort of honorary symbol.

He saw the expression in your face change as you recognized the markings on his plate, "You're a Sentinel... a pure Argentian. You know this, right?"

You nodded your head, "I... I know... You... Y-You're one too, right?"

He nodded his head, horns almost knocking down a light fixture.

"D-Did I... Did I know you when I was a Sentinel?" You questioned.

He nodded eagerly, this time his horn jabbed through the lamp, causing a few sparks as he startled and decided to sit down on one of the other chairs around you.

You stifled a giggle, then realized... "I don't remember anything when I was a Sentinel. All I remember... Is waking up on Mars."

The demon raised an eyebrow, "Mars?" He questioned.

You nodded, "Yeah..."

He seemed to gaze off in the distance for a moment, gripping the arms on the chair harshly as his brow bones furrowed.

You tried pulling him out of his thoughts in fear he would get angry at what you said, "Wh-Who— Who are you?"

His gaze snapped back to you, blinking for a moment until he reached up to his head and undid his face-coverings.

You stared at the demon's face, sunken eye sockets, sharp cheekbones, and dagger-like teeth.

You winced as he set the mask to the side, "I am Ba'al-Berituk, Hell's General... And soon to be... _King_." Watching his serpentine tongue dart between his teeth, you gulped.

This demon truly was... Something.

"A h-hell commander?" You stuttered out, "Wait— Ba'al?"

The marauder was surprised to hear his name, his mouth curled up into a smile, and he nodded, "So you _do_ remember me, [Y/n]."

You nodded, you recognized that name...

It was somewhere buried deep in your memories...

But you couldn't exactly place a finger on it, "I... I've heard of that name." Sighing, you rubbed your arm awkwardly, "B-But I can't really..."

Ba'al's expression faltered, looking down to his feet, "I see."

"Wait, why am I here? Wh-Where is ' _here_ ' exactly??" You began to inquire.

Ba'al-Berituk gulped, "Eh... This is... The ARC Phobos base."

You suddenly felt yourself shrink into your shoulders, wow...

You didn't expect to be back here so quickly...

Heh heh...

Fuck.

"H-How... How did you... Find... Me?" You squeaked.

Berituk noticed the frightened posture you had, making him furrow his brows. Samuel never said why he needed you. Only that he did... He could have _hurt_ you, and he didn't even question him.

"That's a question you have to ask him. I wasn't filled in the details. Only knew where you were and that I had to retrieve you."

" _R-Retrieve_ me?" You questioned, "Why? What do you want with me?? Wh-What does _he_ want—"

One of Ba'al's hands grasped around your whole thigh. Not in a creepy way, or... _That_ way— Sinners— But to calm you down.

You found the touch reassuring despite being kidnap— _Retrieved_ , by him moments prior, so you bit your lip and nodded, trying to breathe as he told you to do.

"The Slayer is not one of us." Ba'al spoke, "He took our people and led them into a battle he _knew_ was going to end us. He did it for himself, for his _own_ people. _Humans_." He clenched a fist as he shook your thigh, "He cannot get rid of you— The last living Argenti— As he did the rest of us."

You raised an eyebrow as he spoke, not buying into anything he said; you knew Flynn!

He would never...

Would he?

You saw the way he tore into demons when he wanted something, you remembered the look in his eye when he said Argenti turn into Marauders, you knew how powerful he was...

But... He never used it against you.

He always handled you like you were made of porcelain, he fought for you when you could no longer fight for yourself...

You shook your head, "No, you— You have him all wrong—"

Ba'al's determined smile fell, looking at you in disbelief. He didn't say anything though, just kind of raised a brow.

"What— How did—" Oh geez... How were you going to form this sentence without offending him, "H-How did you...?" You waved your hands, hoping he'd catch a hint.

"Die?" He finished.

You sucked through your teeth, "If you... If you are okay with... Y'know... Talking about it."

Berituk leant back in his chair, the hand slid off of your leg leaving it... Oddly cold. "I'll... I'll tell you about it later."

You felt as if you've offended him... Making your gut suddenly flip flop.

He felt like an old friend... One you didn't want to upset...

"I'm... I'm sorry, Ba'al." You muttered.

He stuttered on his name again, his fingertips digging hard into the chair to a point you thought he was going to break it.

When suddenly he lunged forward at you.

You screwed your eyes shut as you heard his chair screech across the tile as he lurched.

Instead of your throat being ripped out, though, two heavy and armored arms were wrapped around you as the large demon folded into you.

Oh, he's... _Hugging_ you.

This is one of those things in life that are so obscure you'd never even dream of it.

Yet, here you were... Sitting in a lab on one of Mars's moons ran by Dr. Samuel Hayden, a cyborg leader of a cult-like ring of scientists, hugging it out with a massive, 8 foot tall, (dead??), skeletal demon man with horns thicker than your thighs that also happened to be one of hell's number one commanders.

If you told anyone other than Flynn this, they'd probably put you in a crazy house.

You laughed warmly at the thought, deciding to hug Ba'al-Berituk back. He hummed at the feeling of you trying (and failing) to wrap around his large form, the extra layer of armor made him even bulkier.

With a sigh, you nuzzled your face into his exposed neck, being mindful of that bottom set of horns and ones on his jaw.

You just didn't wanna cry again... And hugging someone was the only way it was going to help.

You have a sickening feeling in your stomach that makes you wanna scream and puke and punch at the same time...

God damn, to know that being away from a man you only met two months ago can do this to you. Taggart really had you wrapped around his finger (more like bicep haha).

"You're gonna be fine." Ba'al-Berituk's low and snarling voice snapped you back into reality of who you were _actually_ holding onto.

You slipped away from his hold, noticing him wincing as he pulled back, oh... Yeah, you did shoot him a while ago, huh...

The white t-shirt you were wearing was soaked in his red blood. You were surprised he hasn't passed out by now, but when he removed his mask earlier you spotted a device on the side of his head you'd never seen before; that probably has something to do with it.

Your thoughts were drawn away from you as the door opened up behind the demon's hulking form.

Berituk growled, turning towards the door as he latched his mask back on, allowing you to get only a glimpse of white metallic legs.

"Your 15 minutes are up." A familiar, low, robotic voice droned.

Your blood ran cold— Or maybe that was just because of your wet hair from the shower you had moments prior— Bare feet slipping against the tiled floors as you tried to scoot back somewhat pathetically.

Ba'al shot a glance back at you, he nodded as he backed away from you, allowing you a full view of the figure.

The blue slit in his face pulsed seeing your scared face. You could tell he found the sight quite odd as his shoulders perked up and he stood taller.

The cyborg couldn't find any words to say, and honestly, neither could you. You kind of just looked at each other until you had to blink from how wide your eyes were, "Sam." You whispered.

Samuel stepped into the room so the door could close, Ba'al standing off to your side, crossing his arms as he watched the events transpire.

You glared up to Hayden, finally deciding what to say as you realized how angry you were at the cyborg, "What do you want?" You questioned.

Samuel let out a mechanical sigh, "Hello to you too, [L/n]." He leaned down to pull up a chair but stopped when he saw the blood-soaked cushions.

He eyed the trail of the crimson droplets, looking over to Ba'al who was standing unfazed in a puddle of his own blood.

Hayden turned and pressed a few buttons on a screen in the wall, you saw the word medic flash on the screen for a moment; these two _were_ working together, then.

Samuel turned back to you, folding his arms behind his back as he circled your chair, looking your over, "So you side with the Slayer now, hm?"

You rolled your eyes, "What's it to you if I do?"

"His intentions are... The same as mine." Samuel began.

Berituk seemed confused by that statement, wanting to interject, but stopped when two medics and an armored guard entered the room.

The two humans went right to work to try and patch up the demon, and you watched out of the corner of your eye as one of them started to fiddle with the contraption embedded in his skull.

"However, his tactics... That's what separates us." Samuel stopped circling you and stood in front of you, looking down at your disgusted face.

"You can't compare yourself to him after all you've done." You snarled.

"Oh? You think you know all _he's_ done?" Samuel would have been smirking as the way your face dropped slightly.

Do you know all he's done?

He wouldn't even tell you he was king of the Sentinels until you found out...

You wonder if there's a reason for that.

"You treat this shit like it's some big game, Samuel! Like people are just pawns that you can use to get what you want! When are you going to realize that these supposed _sacrifices_ you make are going to cost you?!"

Samuel let out a low chuckle, "Well, every game has to have a winner."

"A _winner?!_ " You belted out an exasperated laugh, "What makes _you_ a winner?"

"I survive, [Y/n]. I can't say that much about others."

"You survive! Pssh—" You couldn't help but laugh again, "You survive by using cheap tactics! You're a _coward_ , Hayden."

The three humans froze and looked over to you, a small female human, who was currently standing up to Doctor Samuel Hayden, who could most likely snap your pretty little spine in an instant.

They couldn't look away now, wanting to see how this was going to go down, leaving Ba'al-Berituk who was half unarmored, to scowl at the cyborg.

You heard the guard whispering to the other humans, "That's the Pre-ARC Resistance leader, Commanding General [L/n]."

Berituk seemed hummed at the news you were an ARC leader but continued listening anyways.

" _I'm_ a coward?" Samuel leant down to be face to face with you, you realized that you might have just fucked up, but stayed sitting straight up as he got closer to you, "Let's recall when _you_ ran away when we needed you _most_."

"Ran away!" You shook your head, "You know damn well I didn't run away, Hayden. I went in to stop the invasion. You let your scumbag of an executive close the portal on me! And you didn't even think to come looking for me!!"

Samuel slammed his hands down on the armrests besides you, making you jump and lean as far against the chair's back as you could, "You don't think I _searched_ for you?! Precious days and nights were wasted looking for you. Only when I found out Olivia was conspiring with _them_ I stopped, I thought you were dead due to her demand."

Your stiff posture slowly loosened, eyebrows furrowing with sorrow, "You... You _looked for me?_ "

Samuel's grip on the now broken chair arms loosened, the deep shade of teal his body was emanating lightened to a soft aquamarine as his shoulders dropped.

He slowly stood, sighing heavily as a hand raked down his face. Samuel then noticed the statue-like humans frozen in place in the corner of the room, along with Ba'al, who was still bleeding out.

"Take him to the infirmary." Samuel called, "I think we might need a moment."

You gave Ba'al a worried look, he smiled in response, assuring you that you'll both be fine.

The guard scrambled to pick up the armor pieces that were shucked off the demon, struggling immensely to pick them up, while Berituk leaned down and scooped them easily with one hand.

As the three moved out of the room, the marauder looked back at you one last time before the door slid shut.

You found yourself staring at the closed door before Samuel blocked your view by offering a hand.

With a skeptical look, you hesitated before your clasped your hand around his palm. He pulled you out of the chair, holding you steady as your knees wobbled.

Silently, he led you to another room just off of the one you were in, one with windows so you could see what was going on.

Outside was Mars, but it was... Different. It looked like Earth, almost; a cracked surface with a red smog around it.

"The demons took over Mars, too. Ever since Olivia created mass portals, they have inhabited what's left down there." Samuel spoke.

You found yourself looking up to him, he was gazing out into space blankly. He looked down at you abruptly, catching you staring.

You then realized the tender hand he had on your lower back, growling and pulling away from him, "What do you want with me? Why am I here, Sam?"

Hayden inhaled, "I... I need your help." He admitted.

"With what? It seems like you have everything under control." You joked.

Hayden shook his head, letting out a chuckle. You got him on that one. "I couldn't discuss it with the demon around."

"Why not?" You queried.

"I want to repopulate Earth and Mars." He placed another hand on your shoulder.

You cringed, reading into his words too much, "Uh—" You pulled away from his hold again, "Aren't you... A robot?"

You could see the cogs spinning in his head as he realized what you meant, letting out an amused laugh, "That's not what I meant, [Y/n]."

Oh god— Your face was burning, you totally read that wrong.

I mean, you're glad he wasn't advancing on you, but— Geez that's embarrassing.

"I'd see why I'd need to discuss this in private, then." He joked, making your face even redder.

"Sh-Shut up!" You cried, making his laugh even louder.

After a moment, the teasing had bubbled down, and he got back on track, "That's not what I meant... I need your help with making sure everything goes smoothly and all the priests die to cease the invasions."

"Why'd you take me from the Slayer, then? He was on his way to kill the third priest, I'm sure you postponed that by a long time."

"Yes... I'm aware." He rubbed the back of his neck, there was something he was not telling you, "The Slayer is now fighting to save his own kind after he failed to save yours. If he truly is your... _Friend_ , then you'd aid him in any way you can. I'm giving you an opportunity to help him, and the human race."

"Why are you working with a demon then if it's for the human race? Isn't that a little... Uh... Contradictory?" You motioned to all the blood on your white shirt.

Also, you just realized that you have wet hair and are wearing a white shirt with nothing underneath, that must've been why you kept seeing Ba'al, Sam, Flynn, and even Vega glance down every so often when you spoke to them in the last 2 hours.

Good, great, love it. Not embarrassing at all.

You pulled your shirt so it wasn't hugging your chest and was loose in the front in hopes of obscuring the view.

Samuel cleared his throat and answered your question, "He's just a buffer to keep me updated on the Khan Maykr and to keep the Slayer at bay. I knew there was no way to speak to you without him trying to interfere."

You let out a hum. You were still confused, it seemed like there were a lot of things that Samuel was leaving out of the story and plan.

"I'll... I'll have to think." Until you knew all of the details, you couldn't conclude an exact answer. If Samuel _was_ bullshitting you were going to find out; you're not just going to abandon Flynn.

Samuel grunted, obviously not amused with your answer.

You stood there for a moment more, before he grabbed ahold of your arm and began walking with you, "Let's... Take a look at your throat. I told him not to wound you but... Looks like some of us can't follow orders."

You rolled your eyes, " _Some_ of us."

Samuel chuckled, you couldn't help but feel off, though.

You hope Flynn's doing okay.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta:
> 
> "Do you remember me?"


	24. 24 | IMPETUOSITY : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al and Flynn are angy

[DESTINYCANTBESTOPPED GOT US INTO QUAKECON](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625822251379539968/twitch)

[join my discord server](https://discord.gg/hc6Uzxr)

[flynn, reader, and her armor](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625257750389293056) by agentmultifreak99

[slayer and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625314270549327872/holy-shit-this-is-beautiful) by mieramsteinner

[reader in her white tshirt](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625671292794880000) by fr1t0-bbq

[reader and ba'al](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625716284632514560/i-did-a-thing-i-saw-others-sharing-fan-art-and-it) by anonymous

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You sat atop a medical table as Samuel went in the other room to " _have a talk with Ba'al_ ".

Hm, that can't be good.

You could tell the two had a certain hateful energy surrounding them. But you weren't quite too sure why.

Your attention was brought back to real life as the woman beside you spoke. Currently, you were being checked up on by a nurse.

The female in a lab coat smiled sweetly at you as she grabbed your chin, rolling your neck on your shoulders. You winced, but she discarded your injuries as only a few bruises, thankfully.

She excused herself from the room, saying she was going to go and tell Samuel you were alright, there was no need to cause a fuss, and left you alone.

The room was quite small, like your average doctor's room, except for some bulky machinery in the corner.

There was a computer off to the side, making your heart suddenly skip a beat...

Was Vega still connected to these servers?

You looked around the room once, then snuck over to the computer, maybe you get ahold of him?

How the fuck do you access Vega, though?

Unfortunately, looks like you weren't gonna find out because the door opened back up and Samuel ducked in the door.

With a guilty smile, you spun away from the computer, looking over to the unamused cyborg.

"If you're looking for Vega, we already managed to flush him from our systems. This place has higher security than our other bases."

You grunted, Samuel urgered you on.

You followed him into a larger medical room, Ba'al was sitting atop a table similar to the one you just hopped off of, and he was stripped of his armor, exposing the multiple open lacerations and bullet wounds.

A scientist was fiddling with the glowing blue metallic implant on his chest, and it seemed that he was muttering something behind the glass wall you were looking at them through.

"She's so amazing..." Ba'al let out a dreamy sigh, making the scientist awkwardly nod.

"She shot me in the leg, then tried to bite me... How cute is that?" The marauder chuckled, making the human raise an eyebrow and hum.

"D-Did you not hear what D-Dr. Hayden said? To not ' _try anything_ '?" The human stuttered.

Berituk belted out a hearty laugh, "And you think I _care_ what that asshole has to say?"

The meek human seemed to grow nervous at that statement, suddenly jumping as the door swung open behind him.

You wanted to press Samuel on the various implants on Ba'al's skin but decided not to interrupt.

Suddenly, the scientist let out an "Oh I fixed it!" and a jolt sprung through the demon's body. The veins running down his chest and arms surged a cyan-blue for a moment before the bullet wounds seemed to immediately scab up.

You cringed, instantly recognizing the overuse of argent energy. With a confused glare over to Samuel, he caught your glance but didn't speak on it.

Ba'al let out an exasperated grunt as the energy surged again, healing up the rest of his wounds completely.

His neck twitched and his shoulders slumped, making you suddenly... 

_Worried?_

You don't know why you were, but you were concerned for his well being.

You walked over to Berituk as the scientist shuffled over to speak to Samuel. The marauder grimaced as he moved his stiff and aching limbs.

"A-Are you okay?" You questioned.

His eyes shot open at the sound of your soft little voice, sitting up and leaning over your head, "I-I'm— Uhh," He stammered, "I'm fine. Argent just... Burns."

Your brows furrowed, your hands suddenly lurching at his pecks. Ba'al seemed to enjoy the sudden attention, although you were overlooking the device implanted into his body, not him.

Okay, that might have been a lie...

Even though he was a demon, it was kind of hard to not boggle at his muscles as they tensed up, making you swallow hard and try to focus on the device.

Sooner or later, your finger found a small latch, you flicked it, and out slid a compartment that looked like it held a battery of sorts.

Wait, no...

That wasn't a battery, it was an Argent cell.

Ba'al groaned in pain as the mechanism popped out of his chest, and grasped your head, his whole palm covering from your chin to your forehead.

You flailed, grasping ahold of his wrist as he held you. The scientist quickly waddled over and you heard the latch close again, but you couldn't quite see due to the very _large_ hand obscuring your view.

You heard heavy footsteps behind you, Samuel's cold robotic hands grasped your shoulders, prying Ba'al's hand off your head.

That _really_ put into perspective how _fucking large_ the two men besides you were, making you sheepishly cough.

The marauder just realized what he had done, quickly apologizing to you. He stood and grabbed your arms, looking you over to make sure he hadn't hurt you.

Samuel yanked you closer to himself, slipping you out of the demon's grasp, "Don't apologize, it's what she gets... Messing around with things that... Do _not_ concern her."

You glared at Samuel over your shoulder, trying to shuck his hands off of your shoulder's, but his grip was hard.

Ba'al seemed to notice this, glaring up at the cyborg. He turned and started pulling his armor back on his body, looking to Samuel and you standing there.

"I will be back tonight, for her." He barked at Samuel, motioning to you.

"What? Who says you have permission to do so—" Samuel tried, but Berituk stood his ground.

"The Slayer knows it was you who took her. She isn't safe staying here 24 hours of the day." He snarled, it was obvious the two were just putting up with one another, no genuine friendship whatsoever.

"He can't figure it out. I cloaked the location so Vega cannot trace it."

The two were getting up in one another's face, almost butting heads, while you stood underneath them. Being as short as you were and as tall as they are, you were almost crotch level to both of them, so this wasn't too fun for you, standing in the middle.

You shot the onlooking scientist a pleading glance, but they just worriedly shrugged, mouthed " _I'm sorry_ ", and walked out the door.

Thanks, such a big help.

"Even though you took power from their fortress, I saw how many Sentinel batteries he has. It's only a matter of time before he comes back." Ba'al retorted.

Wait, Samuel took the power?

What the fuck, "Sam?"

"Sentinel batteries are powerful but there's no way it can power his whole entire ship." Hayden shook his head.

Ah, looks like you're being ignored, "Sam."

Berituk let out a dangerous chuckle, "Do you question the power of my people? Remember, your body is made from our technology—"

You had enough, "Sam!" You yelled.

The two's heads snapped down to your small and angry form, both with a look of surprise evident in the posture.

Finally! "You cut off the power to his ship?!" You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms up to Samuel.

Samuel seemed to fumble on his words for a moment, trying to conjure up a lie, before Ba'al pushed past him and leant down to your height, grasping your shoulder, "I will be back for you, I'm going to take you home." He leaned into your ear, his thick Argentian accent making your hairs stand, " _Du serean esak varik._ "

His statement made you furrow your brows, but you had no time to question him, as he was already armoring up once more. Samuel seemed taken aback by his words, but you had no idea what he was saying to you.

With that, he threw Samuel one last glare before making his own portal and zapping away.

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Ba'al's armored footstep landed on the hard ground of Sentinel Prime, he was fed up, and now he knows even more about you.

He marched to where the Deag usually resides, thankfully finding him standing over the coliseum again. The old man weakly turned around in fear, hearing his approach.

"G-General!" He stuttered out.

Ba'al-Berituk continued marching forward towards him, suddenly drawing his axe. Grav took a few steps back as the hellified Argenta cornered him, "You're going to tell me about her, or you're going to suffer."

"H-Hah! Please, you can't kill me on holy grounds—" Grav smirked, " _Erun kavera_."

Ba'al's brow bones furrowed. The Deag was weak, the weakest he's ever been. Now that rhe other two are dead, he's getting sicker and sicker by the minute.

The priest grinned, but it was wiped off his face as soon as Ba'al grabbed the collar of his shirt.

He knew the Deag couldn't fight back. Especially not in this state.

The marauder opened a portal, hastily throwing the priest in. The weak man gulped, eyeing his new surroundings.

" _N-Nevuka xar du'uk?_ " He croaked, watching Ba'al step through the portal after him, swinging his axe.

"Mine and my squadron's resting place. _Nortiek sur devi'rrk latia?_ Where you _slaughtered_ us." Berituk spoke.

The Grav couldn't react before the demon was gripping at his robe's collar again.

Berituk knew he could get in serious trouble for threatening a superior, but he knew that Grav wasn't going to tell anyone; Ba'al was the only thing standing in between the Deag and the Slayer, and Grav already knew the marauder had dirt on him.

The priest gulped, "A-Ask what you wish, Demon. I shall tell you what I know."

"What did you do to her?" Berituk began, "You said you put her in the machine. How? She's perfectly normal, like the Slayer. Nothing happened to her, she's not— _Not_ _like me_."

The priest swallowed hard, "I... I... I tried to give her a new life as I did you. Sh-She pledged her alliance to the Maykr and I provided her with the same strength that you have."

"Something wasn't right. She fought the machine... Just as the Slayer would later do." Grav winced as Ba'al's grip on his neck tightened, "When she came out, something was... Wrong. The Khan Maykr took her immediately, trying to figure out what had happened."

"I never saw her again, we were told never to speak of her under Maykr order, it was a coverup that the divinity machine can be resisted. _Latia valites_... Prophesized."

" _Prophesized?_ " Ba'al snarled.

"It was told that she would be the one, alongside the Slayer, to end her reign. The Khan Maykr wanted her dead. So she was taken away, never to be seen again..."

"Then when the human opened the portals for the demons, she told us that she had what we were looking for, that it was right under our noses."

" _Geruk valites?_ " Ba'al questioned, tilting his head.

"So we bargained with the human to open a portal and trap her in hell. Only problem was... The portal malfunctioned. Brought her to the Betrayer instead of us."

"We didn't know where he was, all we knew is that he had her. But one day he made the mistake of coming back to D'nur. He needed Sentinel batteries. We told him we would give some to him... If he gave back something in return."

"He refused. We followed them back to their hideout... We were so close... But she slipped just past our fingers..."

"And right into the Slayer's... _Just as prophesized_." Grav finished talking.

Berituk growled out, dropping the old man on his ass, "What would you do if you were to see her today?"

"Oh... The Khan Maykr has been looking for her ever since the human made the mistake of revealing her existence. She'd probably take her and attempt to kill her once more for siding with the humans and Slayer." The Deag bluntly stated.

"And you would aid to kill her?" The marauder inquired.

"It's Maykr order. I know _you_ don't usually follow that, but _I_ do." Grav smiled up to the demon tauntingly, "If you can get your hands on her, I heard the Khan would repay anyone who retrieved her with whatever they wanted."

" _Ka'ar latias,_ " Berituk commanded, pointing his axe towards the old man, which quickly shut his mouth.

The priest's statement was somewhat correct, Berituk never did follow Maykr order.

He purposely went against her will, at times.

Grav especially took note of Ba'al-Berituk's strange behavior at times, he knew the hell commander was conspiring against them, it was evident in the way he would go about his orders.

No matter how many times the old man would shove him into the machine to correct his outbursts, it never worked.

And now this; seeking out the one thing holding the Khan back— The one thing that could bring an end to the Maykr's plans.

The Deag knew that something was amidst, Ba'al wanted to be king of the Sentinels, ruler of all hell and its armies.

But, the frail man could do nothing, as he knew his death would be quick. As soon as he no longer had Ba'al and his army's protection, the Slayer would be upon him, ripping his head off just as he did the last two priests.

So, he had to keep the charade up.

Ba'al let out a gruff, " _Fuck_." suddenly catching the Deag's attention.

He was mentally trying to calculate a plan. There was no way he was going to leave you with Samuel, as the Slayer was hot on their trail, but he couldn't bring you here, as the Kahn Maykr and Deag Grav would surely take you away.

Looks like he'd have to keep you a secret... Then.

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"Please calm down."

Flynn picked up a broken shard of his bedroom door and hurled it down the hallway, the impact it made with the wall shook the entire fortress.

"Flynn," Vega spoke, yet it went unheard.

The hothead growled within his helmet, also taking that off and throwing it in some direction.

"You are throwing a tantrum like a child, Taggart."

" _Well, what do you want me to fucking do, Vega?!_ " He barked.

The AI gave no response, giving Flynn a moment to realize what he had said and catch his breath.

Flynn's tensed shoulders dropped, his armor clicking together, "Vega... I—" He sighed, "M' sorry..."

"That's what I thought." Vega sassed, "I understand you are angry, I am as well. But, I was able to pick up on the serial code of his ADS."

"His... What?" Flynn questioned.

"Argent Dispersal System. It appears to be an experimental project Doctor Hayden and his teams are working on to control the output and intake of Argent Energy that demons produce and receive. He's attempting to use it on fallen ARC soldiers, seeing if small dosages can revive their once human bodies."

"He's _still_ fucking around with demons?"

"It appears so. The ADS has almost a system in place as your Praetor suit does, taking raw argent and storing it in a cell within the demons' chest, the pad on his temple sends shockwaves of Argent through its body... Almost as a way to control them."

Flynn let out a grunt as a response.

Vega cleared his throat, "If we had power, I would be able to track the portal and his device, but it seems Hayden tapped into our system and turned everything off."

"FUCK!" Flynn blurted, "How'd he find us?"

"..."

"V-Vega? Bud?"

"Must have found it somewhere in my system when [Y/n] plugged me into their CPU's."

The real reason was that Flynn's dumbass forgot to rip out the tracking device in the UAC armor he stole. Vega promptly did it for him as soon as they got home, but he knew that it was too late.

He wasn't going to say anything, though. Vega knew if he told Flynn the _real_ reason, he'd turn into a big sad sack and mope around in his own pity instead of going to get you, so he made up a lie.

The truth is, Vega really...

Let's just say he _adores_ you.

He's programmed to feel human emotions and be good with human interactions, but...

When he speaks to you it feels as if he doesn't _need_ to be programmed, everything just feels... _Real_ , with you.

He sees the way you and Flynn giggle and laugh together, and although he sometimes wishes that was him, he just is happy that you are safe.

That's why he'd put this whole ordeal on himself, he'd make up a lie and take the blame... All just so you'd be safe.

He wasn't programmed to feel love, and be emotionally attached to someone.

And _trust_ him, Vega searched through all of his main programming parts; but somehow... Every time he was with you, he was compelled to reach out and hold you.

Part of him curses himself, that it's his own fault he got attached.

But how can that be?

If he's literally incapable of feeling love, how does he feel this way about you?

It's... A mystery to him.

And he may be jealous of Flynn at times that he gets to so confidently flaunt the fact he's able to feel attraction towards you when the poor AI can't even _place_ the feeling he has towards you.

"Bud? You okay?" Flynn spoke, "You've been quiet."

"I'm fine, Fly."

There was a moment of silence, before the Slayer spoke up again, "You know... I dunno what I'd 've done without you at times."

"Same goes for you," Vega called.

Another moment of silence passed as Flynn stared at all of his collectibles on his shelf, most fallen over and out of place.

" 'M sorry... For uh... Yellin'."

"It's alright, Flynn."

"Are you... Are you sure? Yer not mad 'r anything... Right, Vega?"

"Of course not. I understand you're frustrated."

Flynn let out a sigh of relief, running an armored hand down his face, "I can't believe I just let the fucker walk away wit' 'er."

Vega chuckled, "I can't believe he ripped off my arms."

Flynn laughed too, but much sourly than his companion, "I'll get yah fixed up, m'kay? Me an' [Y/n]."

Flynn squinted in the dark, trying to rummage around for where he threw his helmet with a night vision mode.

Maybe he _was_ acting like a toddler, that was a stupid move.

Vega laughed at his struggle, watching as he found his helmet finally, "You can use your Sentinel batteries to get a few rooms powered up. Just tell me which ones you'd like to charge."

Flynn let out a soft, "Oh yeah," Then promptly turned on his heel to make his way to one of his storage rooms.

He sighed, wondering if you were going to be okay...

" _Jus' hold on buttercup. Stay strong for me._ " He muttered, slowly clicking his helmet back on.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta:
> 
> "To your real home."
> 
> "You're bluffing."
> 
> "Wh-Where are we?"
> 
> "Don't you recognize it?"
> 
> "It was... Prophesized"
> 
> "Which is?"
> 
> "Watch it."


	25. 25 | MELANCHOLIC : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shameless Samuel fluff/angst

[reader sandwich from ch 24](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/625866614053748736/reader-stuck-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-her) by hopelessdoomfan

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You watched as the portal Ba'al stepped through closed, leaving you and Samuel alone in the medical room.

Awkwardly, you glanced over to him, finding him staring at the place where the marauder stood a few seconds ago.

You felt a venomous spew of words bubble up inside you, but when you tried to say something, a pathetic whine left your lips.

Samuel's head swiveled over to you, seeing your shoulders slumped over. It looked as if he moved to say something in retaliation, probably a snarky remark, but instead, a robotic hiss resonated through his throat.

Neither of you knew what to say.

Samuel began to move towards the door, walking over to it and opening it up, stopping halfway out, holding it open to make sure you were following.

Silently, you complied, but not without a grumble as you passed him in the doorway. He led you through the main hallway full of ARC guards and bustling scientists.

The rows of distracted people looked up and quickly made way as they heard Samuel's heavy footsteps approaching in their direction.

Some of them glanced at you, confused, while others paid no mind because they were too busy noting things down on a tablet as they walked, or fearfully glancing towards Hayden's large stature.

You even heard your name being whispered within the crowd, along with "Isn't that the former Elite Leader?", "I thought she died", "Ohh is that Samuel's girlfriend?"

You cringed at that statement.

Speaking of the robot, one of his giant hands swooped behind himself and reached out to press on your back, ushering you to hurry up.

Some onlookers giggled at your size differences, others looked confused or almost jealous he was treating you so... Tentatively and gentle.

You shoved off his hand, which seemed to anger him slightly. But, his attention was grabbed when the elevator before him opened up.

There was a bundle of humans standing within, but as soon as they saw him, they all ushered out saying "I'll take the next one" and "Excuse me, Dr. Hayden".

You were quite disgusted with the way he held his head higher every time someone praised him as such.

Before he stepped into the elevator, he pushed you into it, making you stumble and press against a wall as his comedically enlarged body shoved into the cramped space.

"They treat you like royalty around here, huh?" You spoke up after a moment.

Samuel looked down at you, not saying anything. Huh, that was unusual, usually, he'd have something to say.

"Is it coz they're scared of you? Orrr... Do you force them to respect you with the threat of annihilation?" You tried to pry something out of him, but he just stared, making you squirm in your spot slightly.

Absentmindedly, you tugged on your white t-shirt to make sure it wasn't hugging you too closely, even though you could tell he wasn't staring like that... For now.

Finally, after a few tense moments, your stomach loudly growled, making you shrink in place even more.

Hayden cleared his throat, "Are you... Hungry?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

You glanced up to him, questioning his response.

"I can hear your stomach rumbling. You're hungry."

With a roll of your eyes, you moved to hug your stomach, hoping to cease the growling.

Hayden clenched his fists, first with the pushing him off when he tried to guide you with him, then with the unsolicited insults, and now with refusing basic care.

Why are you trying to brush him off so damn hard?

Isn't it clear that he's trying to _help_ you? To _care_ for you?

He even risked himself by sending a demon out to get you from The Slayer, because who knows what he was doing to you!

This was all for your own good!

The elevator doors shifted open, you stormed out of them but stopped in your tracks when you realized you were an almost exact replica of Sam's office back on Mars.

He sidestepped beside you, allowing you to look around as he went into his main office to call for a platter of food for you.

Meanwhile, you were getting crazy nostalgia, looking around at the various screens and whatnot around yourself.

You heard Samuel approach you from behind but didn't bother to turn around, as you were busy looking around.

"...[Y/n]." He called.

With a slow inhale, you turned around to face him, locking eyes with the slit in his face.

"Can we..." Samuel tried.

You tilted your head.

"Can we... _talk_."

That took you back for a moment. Samuel was never one to... " _Talk_ ".

"About what?" You sneered.

Samuel gently took a step forward and clasped his hands around your shoulders, guiding you to sit down in a chair beside the wall.

You allowed him to manhandle you, which made him somewhat pleased, taking a chair and sitting down across from you.

"Does The Slayer take care of you?" He questioned.

You squinted, "Yes...?"

"He doesn't... Hurt you?"

"No." You raised a brow at his questionnaires.

"He's not ever tried to hurt you?"

"Of course not!" You barked, "What's it to you, anyway?"

Samuel's circuits surged a dark blue, you knew he was angry now.

Can't you see he _cares?_ What the hell is wrong with you?

You won't talk to him, all you do is push him away. The _least_ you can do is show some respect!

He's been trying to keep his temper from blowing up in your face. He wanted to bark out how you were being, quite frankly, very ungrateful, but he didn't say anything, knowing you'd retaliate with something worse.

God, don't you understand... That he _needs_ you?!

Back before all of this happened, when you hadn't disappeared and before Mars was invaded; that was the happiest time of his fucking life!

Living through not one, but now 2 planetary demonic invasions was just... Tiring.

And Samuel had guilt buried deep within his stomach, knowing that he was the cause for the second one.

You would have some sympathy for him if he stopped being such a narcissistic snob and actually spoke to you about it. You've seen him be himself at times instead of putting on this facade.

Maybe a genuine heart to uh... Circuit board would do you both some good.

But unfortunately, he was having a struggle. There was no way in hell he could even _begin_ to mutter out how he feels.

"He— He's done nothing but been good to me. While you— You sent your _pet demon_ after me!" You yelled.

Samuel gripped the sides of his chair, "My _pet demon?_ "

"You've done nothing to fucking help me. You took me away from my... My _home_. And then you say that you're helping me? Trying to sweep my off my feet like you're some saint and I'm a damsel in distress? You can't even help one person, how do you expect to help the whole human race—"

" _Excuse me?_ " Samuel seemed to get angrier with every word you said, "I've done nothing good? What about getting humanity back up on its feet—"

"You know how many people _died_ because of you? You're gonna bullshit me that you're _helping_ them?"

You knew that Samuel had a soft spot for the topic, yet you were so angry, you felt the anger bubbling up within, and before you knew it, you spat the venomous insult out, " _It's like you want what happened on Mars to happen again_."

The next action was so quick, you barely had time to respond before your arms were being pinned to your sides, your chair slid a foot back as you were picked up and your back was slammed into the wall.

You let out an exasperated gasp, flinching and screwing your eyes shut as Samuel belted out a " _Listen to me!_ "

The sudden change in his voice made you slowly open your eyes back up, seeing his face mere inches from yours, you realized how far off the ground he had picked you up, both of your chairs thrown across the room like it was nothing.

You swallowed hard, looking back up to the cyborg's face... Or lack thereof.

"I..." Samuel tried, "I... Care..."

You didn't respond, allowing him to jumble out the whole sentence, "...About you."

The sudden outburst followed by such a pure genuine statement had you skeptical, "You care... About me?"

He nodded desperately.

"Wh..." You looked over his face, "Why?"

Samuel cares... Because he... _Misses_ you.

As much as he hates to admit it; he didn't realize how much he craved your attention...

Now that he had you back, he didn't want to let you go.

Don't you remember?

Every day after a long day at work, you two would sit up in the observatory watching the sunset... Don't you remember the laughs you'd have?

The genuine moments you two shared?

Hah... He guesses there was no way you _could_ remember.

Your memory was fucked from the beginning, when he found you in hell you didn't even know how to speak.

He built you up from nothing, you two were... So close.

You got each other. Something that's never happened for Samuel before. You're the closest thing to human connection he's had in... _So long_. 

Then Olivia had to go and fuck everything up. Erase that shit out of your head like it was nothing. Then you... Left.

You left like it was nothing.

When Olivia damned you and threw you through that portal he was... _Scared_.

He was so scared for you.

That drove him _crazy_.

He usually finds himself hating everyone he interacts with.

But you... You're so different.

God he... He couldn't go through that again.

He needed...

"You." He muttered, " _I need you_."

You raised your brow, "Y-You... _n-need_ me?" You began to squirm under his hold.

His eye light flickered, making you gulp.

Instead, he was just internally screaming, trying to figure out how he was gonna play that... Lowkey _horny_ plea off.

There was another moment of silence between the two of you, you started to slide down the wall as his grip faltered, along with his composure.

His head slowly came and pressed against the wall above you. He looked utterly defeated, "You're... Crucial... _To my plan_." He muttered, tone of voice faltering here and there.

He was deflecting his emotions, convincing himself he only needed you for his plans.

You knew he wanted to say something else, it was evident in the way his grip around you suddenly gave out. Your bare feet hit the ground, yet Samuel stayed leant over you against the wall, pinning you there still.

"Your plan... Hm?" You questioned, "What does your plan have to do with me?"

"I need you to... Convince... The Slayer... To _help_ me." He admit he needed help. Hayden would have grit his teeth if he could, clenching his fist.

"H-Help you?" You belted out, "Th-The Slayer!?"

"Yes. Me and him are after the same thing." Samuel sighed.

That's only half the reason, though.

He knew if the Slayer were to find out what you were...

 _You'd be... Gone_.

He needed to be there to make sure that wouldn't happen...

_He needed to keep you safe._

Hayden wants to tell himself that he only kept you safe for himself, because of the Khan Maykr found out about him, he'd be dust. He wanted to convince himself you had to stay with him because they were currently hunting you as you spoke.

In all actuality... He was doing it... To keep you close to him.

He forgot how much he needed you at his side, and now that he figured that out, he was going to keep you there.

It's like some big game of keep away and you're the dog toy in a group of hungry, deprived wolves.

"The same thing being... Restoring humanity?" You questioned.

Hayden nodded, the door behind the two of you shifted open, the person calling out a "Doctor Hay—" before they stopped in their tracks, seeing him holding you against the wall, furniture flung about.

Slowly, the human brought up whatever tablet it was holding in their hands, eyes wide.

Samuel held out his hand saying, "Don't—" But it was too late...

You heard the click of a camera shutter.

Samuel stood straight up, taking a few steps back from the wall as he cleared his throat, however, he knew the evidence was already out there.

The human, suddenly regretful of their action, hurriedly set down the bag of food on the ground and sprint off, giggling like some school girl.

You stayed pressed against the wall as Hayden watched the door slide shut, shoulders tense and fists clenched.

He slowly turned back to you, eyeing the mess on the ground he'd created and besides it, the bag of food. The cyborg picked up a few of the chairs and tried to tidy it up, but you stayed glued to the corner.

Sam glared down to the bag and motioned to it, "That's for you."

Hesitantly, you reached down and picked the bag up. It had "BFB" written on it, along with some cartoon burger.

Hayden's heavy footsteps charged by you as he walked into his actual office. Before the sliding door could close behind him all the way, he stopped, glancing behind his shoulder slightly.

Ah, that was his way of telling you to hurry up.

You shuffled into his office after him, he let the door close after he made sure you were in the room with him.

He went right over to his desk and started to pull up holograms and whatnot from the screen built into his table. You awkwardly stood there for a good few minutes before his head turned over to you.

Hayden looked at you for a moment, before directing his attention to the chair on the other side of his desk; he was inviting you to sit down and eat.

Easily, you complied, grabbing onto whatever contents the bag held within and unwrapping it to see... Well, a burger.

Hayden watched you eye it before finally taking a bite. After he was satisfied seeing you eat, he got back to work, fiddling with whatever he was doing.

The room was dead silent, except for the occasional crinkle of the burger wrap in your hands and Samuel letting out a "Hmm..."

You wonder what he's working on.

You looked up to speak to him, but as you opened your mouth... You found it hard to croak out anything past the sudden lump in your throat.

With a click of your jaw, you snapped your mouth shut, cursing yourself as you felt a sudden surge of emotions.

The fuck was this, brain? Why are you fooling around?

Somehow, you forgot to breathe, resulting in an involuntary snivel.

Samuel caught note of the noise, but didn't bother to turn and face you until he heard it again; only this time much much louder, followed by a small sob.

The cyborg turned around to see if you were really doing what he thinks you're doing.

Much to his dismay, you were curled up in his office chair, half-eaten burger discarded, head ducked down, and fists rubbing your eyes.

Oh, man... He's never... And he means _never_ seen you sob before.

Not even when he pulled you out of hell, or told you your troops didn't make it. You were always so strong, seeing you break down in front of him was something he'd never imagine to happen.

This was especially bad for him, considering he has no fucking clue what to do with emotions; rather it be his own, or others'.

He stood there, still as a statue for a moment before he swiped away the holograms, sitting down in his chair across from you.

It was silent again as he watched your form shake, letting out another nerve-wracking sob.

Samuel tried to question you on the only way he knew how, "Why are you acting so... _Pathetic?_ "

You gave no response, other than a half-assed shrug, which didn't help him too much.

He had no idea how to comfort you now that the two of you were— Uhm, on a break? Sure, that's what he'll call it.

There were another few minutes of contemplation in dead silence before you heard him shifting, "Stand up." He commanded.

You made no attempts to move, prompting in him to urge you to stand again, " _I said_ , get up."

Frustrated, you stood, eyes blurry due to the alligator tears flowing down your reddened cheeks.

"Come to this side of the desk." Hayden motioned.

You stood still, not fully trusting the asshole yet.

" _Now_."

Begrudgingly, you did so, walking around to the other side of the desk to stand near his chair, in which he swiveled to face you.

Hayden's arms opened, making you let out a confused grunt... Here goes nothing.

He let out a confused noise of his own as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms stiffly around your small form. He swallowed you up like it was nothing.

"What— What are you d-doing?" Your hoarse voice called.

"I..." Samuel began, "I don't know." The way his voice exited his torso shook your entire body, "Hugging you... I think."

You weren't doing anything, just letting him hold onto you awkwardly.

He felt you just absolutely crumble underneath his touch, throwing yourself around him despite not wanting to have anything to do with him.

You sobbed into his neck, and all of a sudden, his hold around you became a lot more... Genuine.

Other than just the basic hug, Samuel had no idea what he was doing. Oh boy, he was not ready for how long your embrace was going to last as you cried into him.

Hayden found himself... Not minding at all, though.

You suddenly hiccuped out an, " _I miss you, Sam. You motherfucker I miss you, god damnnit._ "

Samuel seemed surprised by your outburst, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead, well, it was more like bonked your head with his chin, "I know... I do too." He spoke lowly.

Your knees started to give out, he felt you lean into him more and noticed how wobbly you were becoming. The cyborg tried to lift you into his lap, but his movement was so irregular and haphazard you ended up completely straddling his hips as he sat.

The new position seemed to throw you both off, but neither of you made any decisions to shift. You were so small compared to him, even though you were sat atop his thighs, his head was above yours.

As you calmed down and let out the last few batches of hiccups, your whole body vibrated against his chest as Samuel let out an, "Are you done now?"

You nodded against his shoulder, but he didn't move his hands from your back— Er, hand, one of his hands could span your entire back, the other hand was sat atop the armrest.

A few more minutes of silence, you heard a few beeps, prompting you to try and turn your head towards the source.

Samuel grabbed the back of your head and shoved you back onto his shoulder, shushing you. You squirmed around, making his hand slide to the back of your neck to see him continuing his work with his free hand.

Oh... Looks like you were staying put then... Hm.

You felt... Off in his arms. But at the same time, you felt like you fit in perfectly.

Slowly but surely, you felt your eyes get heavy, and with the rhythmic beeps from the holograms every now and then, you slumped right over and passed out, maybe also due to exhaustion and shock from today.

Samuel let out a content chuckle as he felt your breathing slow.

Truth was... He was happy to have you back. He doesn't know if he ever wants to have you leave again...

He suspiciously eyed around his room for some reason, looking for nothing in particular, when he leant down and pressed his faceplate to the top of your head.

A surge of argent— No, _adrenaline_ — Ran through him. Hayden let out a small hum, that was new. The last time he felt that was when... The two of you actually _kissed_.

It was after you've both had a rough day, you were both exhausted and needed some consolation.

You were in his office, both of you gazing out his window as you sat beside him on his desk.

He remembers swiveling around in his spinny chair just to look at you. And there was a power outage, which prompted for both of you to grab for one another, not out of fright; but to make sure one another was okay.

One thing led to another; one of your wandering hands around his neck led to one of his hands on your waist. Hayden remembered the way you held onto him, the way you said his name in-between each time he'd press his faceplate against your lips.

And then the power came back on. You were underneath him on his desk and you broke the kiss... Said goodnight, and you left.

The next day he awkwardly tried to bring it up, Hayden was so riled up by the whole experience, he put more sensors in his face and fingertips to feel you better, even.

The conversation resulted in the two of you grabbing ahold of one another and smashing your faces together again. Not the outcome either of you were expecting but not one you were appalled to.

A few months went by, every night the two of you would find each other in one another's arms.

Samuel was ecstatic, the two of you made a wonderful power couple, you were unbreakable. Not just relationship wise, but in the workplace, too. He could do calculations within milliseconds, and you could tell just by glancing at blueprints if something was going to work or not.

The two of you were inseparable.

Until... Olivia began plotting against you both. The mission happened where the Hell Knight got ahold of your troops down on Earth, and you were furious.

Oliva knew it would make you mad, and she knew Samuel wasn't ready to let her go.

The perfect strain on the two of you to make you grow apart, leaving an open opportunity for Olivia so continue working in sleek silence, knowing the two of you were too distracted to see.

"Hm..." Samuel shook his head, trying to focus back on his work as he felt your heartbeat against him, pulling you closer to himself.

Maybe he wasn't as robotic as he thought.

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	26. 26 | MELANCHOLIC : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayden and Berituk just want their tiny gf, is that so much to ask for?

[AN AMAZING CRACKFIC INSPIRED BY THIS BOOK](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851289) by mommaraindrop

[very cute reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/626718023670185984/she-is-perfect-there-is-no-wrong-way-to-draw-her) by kaononaijosei

[marauder reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/626832877417594880) by strawbrryrabbit

[hand drawn doom memes from my discord server](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627093197343047681/spacegoat4ever-doom-discord-shitpost) and [various amazing fanarts](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627093210000490497/spacegoat4ever-the-not-shitpost-compilation) all by spacegoat4ever

[doomguy!](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627076647563165696/im-shameless-and-drew-this-after-having-a-bad) by rinsewashrepeat

[old memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/626653377321893888/i-was-going-through-my-gallery-and-found-like-4) and [demonified reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/626468747724668928/draw-mmore-marauder-reader-oo) by me

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ughhh your neck and thighs hurt so much... It's like you literally slept on a damn rock... What the hell.

You moved to stretch, your muscles aching from being in the same position all night long, feeling whatever you were laying on shift along with you.

The metallic surface hummed underneath you, making you jump and open your eyes. The room you were in was quite dark, except for a soft blue glow.

You were surprised to come face to face with Samuel Hayden.

You were still sat atop his thighs, and it looks like he halted working on whatever he was doing as he felt you shift.

"Uh..." You spoke, "Did I... Sleep on you... All night?"

"Mhm." Hayden nodded.

You felt yourself flush, "Why didn't you... Move me?"

He shrugged.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours, 24 minutes, and 13 seconds."

"Y—" You gulped, "You sat here for three hours?!"

He shrugged again, "Technically, I was still working." He motioned to the holograms.

You slid off his thighs to try and stand, your muscles screamed from being strained for so long against hard metal.

"Plus..." Hayden wanted to say something like ' _I missed holding you like the old times_ ', but there's no way he'd admit that, "It looked like you needed the rest, after... Whatever that _pitiful_ act was last night."

You glared up to him, wanting to get off him now.

Unfortunately, there was no way you could stand though, your legs were completely asleep, your thighs were shaking, your back felt like you had just been stabbed, and you had a crick in your neck.

You managed to spin yourself so you were now sitting in between his legs, feet on the floor.

Hayden seemed displeased by the new position due to the lack of contact, but he was taken aback as you stretched and all the joints in your body popped like bubble wrap.

Samuel slipped his hand under your armpits, helping you stand. Your knees wobbled immediately as all the blood rushed back into your legs.

"What was that even about, hm?" He questioned.

You looked over your shoulder at him, shrugging, "I dunno. I'm capable of feeling normal emotions and whatnot, unlike you."

"I wouldn't try getting all guileful. You just did spend the past three and a half hours curled up on my lap."

You blushed at that, "I didn't mean to... Fall asleep on you."

"And yet you did. I'd joke that maybe you didn't quite hate me as much as you think but..." He glanced over to you, "I wouldn't want to call you out."

You found yourself huffing, knees wobbling as you grabbed onto the desk, "Oh shut up."

Samuel noticed the dark purple spots on your thighs that the handles of his hips left.

Oh, man... That's...

Not good.

Hayden cleared his throat, "Come on. Let's get some more food in you and... Clean your filth up."

You raised an eyebrow, you just took a shower? You looked down at the blood-stained t-shirt you were in.

Oh.

He seemed to be acting more... Snappy than usual. You wondered what was wrong with the bastard.

The pressure on your back snapped you out of your thoughts as you were shoved out the door. You eyed over to him, Hayden glanced down at you and walked you over to his elevator.

The elevator ride was short and quick, and when you reached the destined floor, heads quickly snapped over to the sound of Hayden's voice ushering you out.

A few gasps and giggles were heard, making you suddenly self-conscious.

Samuel paid no mind, holding onto your arm as you struggled to keep up with your sore legs. He led you down a hallway, then stopped at a door, knocking once before letting himself in.

The humans behind the door all eyed over at you, raising their brows. It seemed like they were working on various pieces of armor platelets and what have you.

"I need something for her." He motioned down to you.

One of the female workers, who wasn't working on something rushed over and grabbed your hands, smiling sweetly as she brought you into another room. Samuel followed after you, even though the woman awkwardly told him to stay put.

You began to question why you and this woman needed a moment alone but soon caught on as you saw the various uniforms lining the wall.

Ah, fitting room.

With a nervous hum, you looked back at Sam as the woman brought a measuring tape up to you.

She started with your bust, you watched in the mirror as Samuel seemed to have bashfully looked down. But it was quite hard to tell.

Next was your waist and hips, in which you saw Samuel shuffling. Then, she moved onto your sleeves. Her hands moved to your neck but stopped when she saw how bruised it was.

"Oh my..." She muttered, carefully measuring around it. Then, she moved onto your inseam and thigh. Also faltering at how bruised they were.

"How did you get these, Ms. [L/n]?" she questioned.

You were taken aback by the fact she knew your name, apparently, you hesitated for too long before Samuel butt in with an "It's none of your business."

Slowly, the woman put two and two together, eyes widening, "O-Oh... Oh my."

You tilged your head, confused about why her hands became shaky and her work became hurried.

A few moments later, she spoke up, "I-I think I have something that will fit you. Just a moment." She slipped past the large robot in the corner and out of the door, leaving you two alone for a moment.

"Why are you acting so pissy?" You called over to him.

Hayden didn't reply, he didn't even make an indication as if he heard the remark, making you suddenly confused.

Before you could act on it, though, the employee was back, this time with a pile of clothes, "H-Here you are!"

With a dismissive grunt, the cyborg held out his hand as the woman placed the uniform into it. Hayden walked back to the door, suddenly grabbing your arm harshly and leading you off.

"Sam?" You queried, huffing as he angrily pulled you to the main hallway again, hovering over you like some helicopter parent, trying to shield you from everyone's view.

Although his large frame hid you fairly well, everyone noticed you anyways; giggling and pointing.

You felt your chest tighten, what is going on?

"Go in there." Hayden pushed you towards a door, "And put this on." Then he handed you the uniform the lady measured you for, "Then come back to my office."

"Geez, thanks, mom." You rolled your eyes, snatching it out of his hands and walking into the room he pointed to.

It was a bathroom, and the tile floors were cold against your bare feet. There were a few women in there, washing their hands, gossiping, whatever, but all of it stopped when you entered the room.

"Eh... Heh..." You awkwardly moved to go into a stall to change, feeling everyone's eyes on you.

The clothes consisted of an under layer, an armor suit, a jacket, some pants, socks, and shoes.

The under layer was just like bra and shorts in one, pretty much like a spandex leotard.

The bodysuit was a weird mix between armor and cloth, kind of like kickboxing pads. The thicker foam pieces were white, and the base spandex was black.

The bomber jacket and track pants were a thick insulated material, but comfortable. They were both orange with white and black undertones, branded with ARC logos and patches. Apparently they didn't measure these ones to size, because they were huge on you. The sweats were baggy and the hoodie was huge.

The shoes were nothing special, just some white low-cuts.

You finished adjusting all the spandex and padding underneath your sweat suit, which was hugging your form very tight, and picked up your bloodied shirt and ripped up shorts.

When you exited the stall, all of the girls smiled over at you. You awkwardly smiled back, walking up to the mirror to make sure your hair wasn't too messy and were trying to adjust the spandex so it wasn't sculpting your curves so hard. You decided to just zip up your sweatshirt, that way no one could tell.

You felt all of their eyes on you, looking back at the group through the mirror, "Uhhmmm..." You babbled.

One of them finally spoke up, "You're general [Y/n], right?"

"I guess so." You griped you didn't know Samuel had already made the official statement you were back and an ARC leader again.

They giggled childishly, "Girl! What's it like?" One of them squealed, digging in their lab coat pocket to retrieve you two hairbands.

"Thanks." You smiled, flipping your hair forward to pull it back, "What's what like?"

"You know...!" Another one spoke up, "Working so... _Close_ with the refrigerator?"

"Refrigerator?" You repeated.

"That's what we call Samuel." One answered, "He's big, tall, and bulky like those old refrigerators I have seen in commercials from like the 2040s."

You chuckled, you'd have to use that insult. "Oh uh... I dunno. He's always got a stick up his robot ass."

"He does?" They tilted their head.

"Yeah?" You turned to face them instead of glancing at their reflections in the mirror, "You're telling me you talk to him and he _doesn't_ seem like he's got his metal panties in a bunch?"

They bashfully looked to the floor, "Even though we're almost _all_ his top scientists... He doesn't really... Talk to any of us."

"Eugh." You scoffed, of _course_ , that asshole acts like he's royalty, "Yeah well, he's as hard-headed as he looks, that's for sure."

The girls giggled, then one jumped up, "Oh! Can we um... Get a picture with you?"

You raised a brow, but shrugged, "I didn't know I was picture-worthy but sure. Why not."

They all cheered, one grabbed their phone as the four other girls crowded behind you, snapping a few pictures before they called it good.

You waved, walking out the door as they overlooked the photos. Surprisingly, Hayden had ditched you, despite his very odd and clingy behavior moments prior.

With a huff, you weaved through the hallways, making it back to one of the elevators. Fuck, you had no idea which floor Hayden's office was on. You inhaled, deciding to choose the top one.

Sooner or later, you found the door to his office, waltzing in like you owned the place. However, Sam was not there. You raised an eyebrow, walking over to his main desk.

Your fingers absentmindedly came to press against the table's screen, it powered up almost instantly, and a giant hologram of a gun showed up.

You gasped so hard it made your chest squeeze. Meekly, you tried to read around on the hologram for any sort of explanation, only coming up with the word "BFG 10K".

"BFG?" You hummed, "Big... Big fuggin' gun?"

"So you're as cunning as you look." Sam's voice from behind you made you shake, guiltily turning around to face him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You crossed your arms, mirroring his angry stance.

"Why can't you subdue your inquisitiveness? Always prying where you don't belong." The cyborg walked up beside you, swiping his finger against the hologram so it disappeared.

"Why do you got a stick up your concave ass, Hayden? A few hours ago it seemed like you were just _dying_ to hold onto me." You teased.

Samuel did not find it amusing. While you were asleep, the photo was spread around of himself holding you against the wall, hand outstretched to obscure the camera's view.

As much as an ego boost it would be for him to say "That's right, I'm having an affair with The Slayer's supposed girlfriend, not to mention the huge Marauder that commands all of hell and specialized AI that has access to all of the UAC and ARC's weaponry that are after her too."

It would be all too... Humanizing.

There's a reason he doesn't speak to his co-workers, or let them know anything about him. They see him as a 10-foot tall robot. Shouldn't be anything more, or anything less.

However, with this picture going around; it just gives them that _perfect_ peek into his world behind closed doors. That he still does have a human brain in that metal body of his.

They were beginning to see him as inhuman, alien, robotic even, but now they see they he's just as capable of being a human as they are.

Before you fell asleep on him, and he pressed his faceplate to your forehead; that jolt of argent that stung his conductors made him— Quite ironically, now— Think that maybe for a second, he wasn't as mechanical as everyone thought he was.

But now, now that the word has gotten out, he realizes how damn true it is. How much he _cares_ about you. How much he _worries_ about you. You, you were the only one that experienced his human side first hand, you were the only one that got him.

He only knew how to deal with it one way, The Hayden Way™; push everything down and act like it was all your intentions in the first place.

As to not let anyone get the wrong ideas about you two, he had to act like the biggest asshole in the world to you. Well, not like he wasn't that anyway, aha. It was the only way he knew how. There was no way he could own up and say anything along the lines of what he truly wanted to say.

"I do not have a stick up my... _Concave ass_." He drug out the pronunciation in the "S", making you roll your eyes.

"Well that's good, you have plenty of room then, because soon my foot's gonna be shoved up there." You snarled, sinking into your boots when he suddenly walked up to you.

He stood so close, his crotch plate almost bumped into your chin, making you gulp and look up to him.

You know he wouldn't hurt you... Well, physically. The bastard's words could hurt sometimes though.

"I would advise you not to try and provoke anything from me today. I have already been vexed enough." Hayden pushed past you to go gaze dramatically out his window, making you raise an eyebrow.

"You're annoyed, and not by me? That's a first." You joked, slowly walking up to stand at his side.

You heard him huff out a breathy laugh, making you bite the inside of your cheek, that's a good sign. The two of you stood there in silence for a moment, before you found yourself speaking, "You know... All of the things I say to you... I..."

The cyborg's large head craned down ever so slightly, you could tell he was listening, "I don't mean 'em."

There was another moment of silence.

"Well, _most_ of them." You chuckled.

Hayden let out a deep laugh that rumbled in his chest. One of the hands folded behind his back came to pinch at where the bridge of his nose presumably would be.

"You are the living equivalent of dropping a thumbtack on the carpet and finding it with your foot." Samuel walked over to his desk, plopping into his chair, going limp.

"Aww!" You cooed, "Sammy!"

He looked over to you, confused.

"That's got to have been the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" You walked over to him, grabbing onto his faceplate and pinching his " _cheek_ " how a grandma would fawn over her chubby grandson.

He reached up and did the same to you, his rubberized fingertips gripped at your cheek way easier than your fleshy fingers could do to his metal, "Oh, that's just _extravagant_ , because I have plenty more _compliments_ for you, then."

You grabbed at Hayden's wrist to yank him off of you, holding onto the palm of his giant hand with your two smaller ones, "Ew, get off me. I don't know where your hands have been."

The whole interaction was playful, but suddenly, when you looked back up to his blank mechanical face, you were taken a little aback by how dull the slit in his face was.

"Are you okay?" You questioned, suddenly becoming a lot more sincere.

He nodded, sighing, "Yes. These current events have been... _Taxing_ , yes; but I am more than equipped to handle them."

You hopped up onto the desk, sitting so you were eye level with him and your feet were dangling off the edge, "You're stressed?"

Hayden didn't answer. That meant yes.

"What's got you stressed?"

There was a moment of silence as Samuel's shoulders slumped even more, "If my plan goes correctly... We have a crucial fail point. This base's number one defense system, The BFG, has malfunctioned."

"Well? Fix it." You shrugged.

"Heheh." Hayden purred out a demanding laugh, "How big do you think it is?"

You raised an eyebrow, "Like... An estimate?"

He nodded.

You held your arms out at arm's length, "About here?"

Samuel slyly nodded, "You're... Just a _little bit_ off."

You shrugged, not catching onto the sarcasm, "Oh well, is that all? You need to fix a gun? You know I can do that."

Hayden shrugged, "If you are up to the _rather large_ task." He quipped.

You still didn't understand the pun, "Of course."

Hayden sat up, "Excellent, then I can provide—"

"On _one_ condition." You finished.

He looked over to you, " _Oh?_ "

"What is with the demon? And needing the Slayer? Won't they like... I dunno, rip each other apart?" You raised a brow, "And you never even told me your whole plan, you just expected me to follow through with it."

Hayden sighed. That's the other thing stressing him out. This whole ordeal.

"I couldn't talk about with the Marauder around. And when I brought you in here earlier, you decided it was nap time."

You crossed your arms, "Well, I'm not asleep now, am I?"

Samuel grunted, "I need you to convince The Slayer to aid in the process of recolonizing. He is the one who took down Pierce, and, as much as I don't agree with his methods, he is the only one that can stop the invasion on Earth."

"Okay... Well, he was already doing that?"

"That's the thing. He was annihilating demons _outside_ of our realm, as well. That's where the Marauder comes in. He is the commander of all the demons in hell, and if I can get him to hold back his troops, then we have a deal. I won't let his army die if he doesn't let my humans die."

"Wait so—" You stammered, "You want the demons to _live?_ "

"In hell, yes. Without them, there will be no more Argent Energy."

You felt your teeth grit together, " _God!_ Fuck your energy, Sam! This is what makes another fucking apocalypse happen!!"

Hayden seemed to get angry at that statement, "This is for the greater good of humanity."

While crossing your arms, you huffed, "Sam I am not going to help you keep your Argent farm up and running."

Hayden moved to say something more, but an intercom announcement signaling the arrival of a demon cut him off.

"I suggest you do not mention the Slayer to the demon. He may think we are plotting against him and act irrationally. I've seen it before... Hell and the demonifacation process must have... _Angered_ him over the years."

You raised a brow but silenced yourself as the doors slid open behind you. Ba'al-Berituk walked in, along with a terrified human holding another bag of food, presumably ordered by Samuel for you.

He walked up to you and handed it over, then ran out of the room like a madman. You stood from the desk, barely getting time to stand before Ba'al was standing in front of you, grabbing your chin and tilting your head around.

"What're you doing?" You questioned.

His voice behind his mask came out scratched and distorted, almost making you think it was Hayden for a moment, "Making sure the _machine_ did not lay a hand on you."

"Unlike you, I have moral standards, _demon_." Hayden called back, standing to be at eye level with the commander, "I don't go around ripping heads off all day."

You rolled your eyes at the two, and Hayden's false statement. His morals were the same as a cockroach's, just arguing about his human soul farm.

You sidestepped as you felt Samuel walk up behind you, "Please do not make me into a dick sandwich again." 

The two faltered at that, before Hayden spoke back up, "There's no way I'm allowing you to take her away from m— _here_. If I can recall correctly, she's being hunted by your superiors and all of hell, right? Including your troops? Do you think they won't be able to find her in the blink of an eye? You think you can hold them off? Hah, pathetic."

Berituk growled, "We'll see how pathetic I am once I stop protecting you from the Slayer," He snarled, "I've been doing your bidding. Now it's time for you to own up and compensate for what you owe me."

If only you knew how tense this situation was.

Ba'al is desperate to take you and leave, just to get you two some alone time. Ever since you shook your head no, saying you don't remember barely even his _name_...

He _needs_ to get you back.

Sam, on the other hand, just _got_ you back after all that time. There's no way in hell he's just going to _let you go._

"I don't owe you anything." Samuel sneered, "And you're not taking her."

"Why do you need her so badly? You won't tell me the details of your plans. So I am beginning to suspect something," Ba'al dared, "I'd think it's only for your personal favor. Plus, The Slayer will be here any damn minute and—"

You suddenly barked from below, "Hey!"

The two huge males looked down at you, guiltily.

"Don't I get a say in this?" You crossed your arms.

You saw both of them slump over sheepishly, completely forgetting that you have wants and needs as well.

They both mumbled out a slew of apologetic words, barely loud enough for anyone to seriously register, while Sam rubbed the back of his neck and Ba'al tugged at his horn.

"Thank you." You sassed, "Sam..."

His head snapped down to you.

"I want to go."

"BAH-HAHAH!" Berituk blurted, "Serves you right, robodong!" He walked over to you, extending a hand triumphantly, "Let's go, you—"

"Ba'al..."

His jaw snapped shut.

"You're going to bring me back here in the morning."

Samuel's shoulders perked, he would have been wearing a shit-eating smirk if he could, watching as the armor on the demon's shoulders slid down.

"Fine..." He stood, walking towards the door.

You began to go with him before you heard Hayden's heavy footsteps from the center of the room.

Last second, you turned around to find him sitting in his office chair, Ba'al had already walked into the waiting room, so you took your time walking over to Hayden and looking up to him.

You sat the food down on the table and opened your arms.

"What are you doing?" Samuel questioned.

"Hugging you... I think."

He chuckled at the reuse of the line. Slowly learning down and pulling you into his chest.

Your arms wrapped around his neck, and the two of you held onto one another for a few seconds before you pulled away, looking up to his face, arms still locked behind his head.

"If he tries anything, there is a button on the side of the dispersal system, not the accumulation device, but the one in his head."

"You worry too much about me, _robodong_." You grabbed one of the pistons in his neck and pressed your lips to his chin, a sudden zap of energy tingling your lips.

You pulled away, seeing his system glowing a fluorescent teal, "Did you just shock me?"

"A-Ah, It... It's—" He cleared his throat, "They're Argent dispensers in my faceplates. It sends out a dilute variant of energy in its purest, raw form."

"What? Why?"

"I... I was hoping one day I could try them out on a... _Certain_ test subject."

Oh, was he _flirting_ with you?

You pulled away, patting his knee before grabbing the food on the table next to you, "Don't call me a test subject."

Hayden chuckled, "How about... A _willing volunteer?_ "

"That's more like it." You called, heading towards the door, "Bye, Sam."

"...Goodbye, [Y/n]" He muttered as you stepped through the door, placing his hand where your lips once were.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


	27. 27 | MELANCHOLIC : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Ba'al begin warming up to one another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys , college is starting back up for me on sept 3rd , it's going to be all online though ... so fingers crossed i can keep on updating as frequently as i have been  
> love you all :) if you wanna keep in touch i am more than happy to talk to you all on my tumblr / discord , and just recently i got a twitter and instagram account to post more art , hmu on any platform ! <3

[human ba'al and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627177833952837632) by agentmultifreak99

[ba'al in his war / king fit](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627305859063644160/spacegoat4ever-is-there-anyone-suicidal-enough) and [handrawn memes bby](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627441571085844480/spacegoat4ever-memepilation-2-for) and [hand drawn non-memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627441585135714304/spacegoat4ever-non-meme-compilation-2-for-the) all by spacegoat4ever

[reader in her arc uniform](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627711576585224192/by-phish2921-on-discord) by Phish

[reader and pog doomguy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627846720000294912/you-chose-to-hide-this-from-me) by stardust-artsatical

[reader n ba'al trying to speak argenta to eachother](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/627403300599480320/if-u-could-pronounce-the-minecraft-enchanting) by me

[DLC DLC DLC DLC DLC DLC](https://youtu.be/0KqsTyDHV5A)

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You felt your feet hit the stone floor, shivering as the demon's hands left your form. Ba'al looked down to you awkwardly as you looked around. You were in a large living space it seemed.

The room consisted of a table and chairs, a few shelves full of books in an unknown language, with photos and armor hooks on the wall. There was a glass doorway that led out to a balcony overlooking a strange, yet, oddly beautiful landscape. A small hallway was off to the left of the room, but you were stopped before you could move and look down the hallway.

The demon stood in front of you, blocking your view, "I am going to lay out some ground rules, remember, these are only for your safety."

You found yourself nodding.

"Number one, do not go out of that door unless I am with you." He pointed to a large entryway, covered in demonic runes, "Rule number two... If someone knocks on that door, you go down the hallway and the second door on your left."

"What's in there?" You questioned.

"My bedroom." He placed his elbows against the tabletop, "Barely ever gets used anymore. Demons don't sleep."

"Oh... 'M uh... I'm sorry." You rubbed your arms, still not sure if he's alright talking about the subject of being a demon, "What's through that door that I can't see?"

"That's the door to the main hallway where other demons are, and a few Maykrs."

Your blood ran cold at that statement, cutting Ba'al off before he could continue, "B-Berituk?" You whimpered, "Maykrs? L-Like the Khan is out there?"

"The Khan, _here_?" He chuckled, "No."

"Wh-Where are we?" You brought your hands up to your chest, shrinking in your boots as you eyed around yourself.

His eyes widened at how frightened you sounded. It was obvious he didn't know certain social cues, or how large and frighting he was, or how it might be scary for him to rip you away from your home and then take you to multiple unfamiliar environments.

Wait— What?

Unfamiliar?

You're on Argent D'nur.

Your... _Home_.

Why don't you recognize it?

Ba'al assumed you didn't remember him because he was... Well, a demon. But now that he sees the fear in your eyes... It was evident this might be deeper than he thought it was.

"You mean... You do not recognize this place?" Ba'al tilted his head, horns barely scraping the ceiling.

You shook your head no, making him suddenly bring his unarmored palm up to his face and pinch the bridge of his nose.

He looked back down to you, seeing your still frightened composure, making him suddenly regretful.

"I won't—" He took a step forward, testing out his boundaries. You didn't move back, making him hopeful, "—Let them hurt you."

He held out his hand, leaning down slightly.

Slowly, you stepped forward and took ahold of them, allowing him to clasp ahold of you.

"Are you— Why aren't you scared of me?" He questioned, feeling you wrap around his torso in a hug.

You raised an eyebrow, situating yourself to look up to his armored face, "Well... Do you want me to be?"

"N-No!" He held his armored hands up, "It's just— Ever since I... Eh, ' _met_ ' you, you have shown no fear towards me, a _demon_." He brought his hand up to tug on his horn, somewhat of a nervous habit, "You... That's got to mean something, _right?_ You _know_ who I am. You _trust_ me."

It sounded like he was saying those things to reassure himself more than he was trying to pry answers from you.

In all reality, you came with him to learn more about him, and— Well, yourself, you suppose.

He seems to know about your past. Who you were before you were in Hayden's hands.

Of course, even though you had an odd feeling he wouldn't try and harm you... You might've stolen a pistol on your walk around Hayden's complex as you looked for his office.

You saw how ineffective Flynn's pistol was against Ba'al, but... Some protection is better than none. Especially if there are other demons out there.

"I do trust you." You nodded.

"Wh-Why? If you don't know who I am?" It sounded like his voice was breaking, "You know only of my name, that's _nothing_. There has to be something in your head that tells you to trust me... Because you... You know who I am, you _have_ to."

"Ba'al..." You hummed, saying the name as you've said it a hundred times before. It slid off your tongue with such fluidity, so naturally.

He looked down at you again, you offered a soft smile, making him close his eyes and heave out a sigh.

He placed his unarmored hand atop your head and ruffling your hair, then took a step back, heading to the very unused couch in the living room.

The marauder sat down, bringing his hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. You slowly made your way over to sit beside him, still grasping the food Hayden had given you.

Berituk then unclipped his mask, sucking in a breath through his unsheathed mouth.

He then stood, moving over to a workbench in the corner besides the wall hooks and started to undo his other armor.

As he was busy, you moved to take the food out of the bag.

A few minutes later, he was fully undressed besides for the chainmail pants he had on, and you had taken three bites of your breakfast sandwich.

He looked back towards you, grimacing, "Don't eat that _vel'arr_." He snarled.

You lowered the food from your face, "Wh-Why not?"

"Human food is disgusting. Let me show you something better, _tevasen_." He took a step forward, grabbing the bag out of your hand, and walking over to the trashcan in the corner.

He threw everything in, then walked down the small hallway.

You awkwardly sat there, swinging your legs on his huge couch, before his voice beckoned after you.

Struggling to get off the couch with your bruised muscles, you walked down the hall, peering into his bedroom.

He was now wearing a pair of grey sweats, holding a black t-shirt. Ba'al attempted to pull it over his head, but it snagged on his horn, making the fabric rip.

"Oh, _darx k'tut_." He groaned and fixed it, making you realize how many holes the shirt was littered with, you chuckled at the fact, making him look over to you with a big goofy grin, "I wanna show you some of the food we have here."

He grabbed something off the dresser he was standing by, blowing the dust off of the thin book. He handed it to you, a wilted cover with faded photos of food and unknown writings inside.

"It's traditional, that every night we go down and eat in the dining hall together. Even though demons can't eat, even the other Argenti can't anymore."

"Huh? _Other_ Argenti?" You raised a brow.

"Yeah, they aren't... They aren't alive, but they aren't... Dead." He shrugged.

"What?" You scoffed, "Then what's all this about me, Valen, and Slayer being the last living Sentinels?"

Ba'al slammed a fist beside his head on the doorframe, " _The Slayer is not an Argenti_." He growled.

You were a bit taken back, biting the inside of your cheek, "Oh— Okay."

Berituk sighed, "Sorry." He muttered, "There are two classifications of Argenti. Do you remember what they're called?"

You shake your head no.

"You really don't remember even that, _takurr?_ "

"Uhhh, nope."

Ba'al sighed, leaning his forehead against the top of the doorway, realizing how fried your brain really was.

"Okay, so... There are Sentinels, ones with true warrior blood, who protected the throne, trained for battle. Then, there are civilians, who kept our holy cities in order and made sure everything was up and running correctly."

"Okay." You hummed.

"Us warriors were submit to the Divinity Machine after we died to continue our legacy even after death, that's what Marauders are."

' _Divinity Machine...'_ Your mind repeated.

The mention of the unknown mechanical device made your skin crawl. It put a sour taste into your mouth, a bitter one... One that tasted like _rust_.

And the smell of something burnt, thick black smoke and the crackle of flames in your ear.

' _Divinity Machine,_ ' You repeated once again.

Ba'al drug you away from your thoughts, "Each one of us was affected differently. Some came out with their faces melted off, armor embedded into their skin. Thankfully, I hadn't gotten it too bad, I still have my own mind. Whereas some of the other Marauders are blinded by _hate_... Hate and pure _rage_."

"The civilians had to take over defending what they believed in which was, unfortunately, the Khan. The Maykrs tried to protect them with their tech, but they weren't allowed to be in the divinity machine, so, hell waves eventually corrupted them all."

"L-Like at the UAC bases." You muttered, "So they're all... Zombies?"

"They aren't as _stupid_ as those humans, I think it has something to do with the damn Maykr's and their hivemind."

Now you were no longer following what he was saying, deciding to awkwardly nod.

"Do you remember what happened to us Sentinels? What drove us to death?"

With another solemn shake of your head, you felt your shoulders slump.

You should know this...

Why...

Why can't you remember?

"The civil war between the Maykr's followers— _S'kur_ — And the true warriors who fought for our rights."

"Th-They were called... _Skurrr_?" You tried to pronounce after him, making him chuckle.

"No. That's what I call them, _cowards_." He sighed, realizing you don't know any Argenta, "I guess I'm a coward myself, though. Instead of dying honorably, I chose to devote myself to the Khan to become living after death despite... _Hating_ her."

"You— You hate her?" You tilted your head, "Aren't you her number one in command?"

Ba'al grinned down at you, taking your hands in his, "I don't _obey_ her commands. I tolerate her, _setuk nevas vashal dera_."

He leaned into your ear slowly, growling out a low, "She will fall, and I will rise. Over her, over the people, _derun la'x exultar'r n'ar tobas sautev_. Her honor means nothing to me."

The gears in your head began churning, "You— You want to take over her reign on the Argenti?"

Ba'al gave a half-lidded smile, nodding slyly, "Let me show you something? _En'tar?_ "

He pushed past you in the doorway and lead you over to the balcony, opening the door and walking outside.

Slowly, you stepped out after him, eyeing over the rolling hills and dark blue, smoggy sky.

Down below you seemed to be a giant coliseum, the far off sound of chanting could be heard, along with the drum of thunder and roars of demons.

"This is Sentinel Prime, the capital of Argent D'nur. Down there is the coliseum, where I first met you."

Your eyes were gazing up at the stars, but soon you found yourself staring down at the arena, gripping onto the railing of the balcony.

It seemed to be nighttime, or maybe it was just dark here, the blue smog fading into an orange hue, making the sky purple at the moment.

The arena had a soft yellow glow coming from it, the ground around it seemed to shake every so often, along with screams and shouts from somewhere in the distance.

"Do you remember that?" Ba'al questioned, "We were in the arena together. You said it was your first battle, trying to earn your place amongst us Night Sentinels. You were a medic, as most female Sentinels were, before your engineering skills caught the eye of Chief Valen."

You looked over to the large demon at the mention of Valen. Ba'al was looking down at you, admiration laced his voice and attraction in his eyes.

"He was injured, and you were on the battlefield with nothing except the armor on your back. But you saved him, somehow..."

"Valen." You hummed, "Like... The betrayer?"

He nodded, "He is the reason you are what you are."

"Oh, bull shit." You groaned, making the demon giggle, amused, "I don't remember any of this…"

"I know…" Ba'al sighed, it seemed his eyes shone a darker crimson before he shook his head. You then realized that when he was relaxed, his eyes were a pretty amber instead of a deep scarlet.

Ba'al continued on with the story to try and rehash your memory, "Valen told Novik about it, and the king let him take you under his wing. He taught you about things until you proved to be extremely coy about firearms; knowing how to use and operate them without even glancing twice."

"Then, you caught Novik's eye. He watched you mow down enemies like it was nothing. He offered you a chance to get into the militarized squadron, and you took it."

"Then you fought me, along with a few others, in your training the next day. We were the last two from each team standing. I remember I made fun of you for being so small... Then you grabbed my arm and swiped my legs, dislocating my shoulder."

You cringed, "Sorry."

"No, no, _nortiek serit xetan_." Ba'al grinned, "I deserved it."

You chuckled warmly, rolling your eyes as the hunk of demon beside you relaxed more. You found yourself relaxing too.

Ba'al spoke up, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

You nodded, "Yeah..."

" _Erun barentia n noa'ik_." He muttered, knowing you wouldn't be able to understand.

"It's— It looks familiar to me." You called over to him, "This landscape."

The hell commander suddenly realized something:

You recognized it.

He was getting somewhere.

If he showed you things you could recognize... Then maybe he could piece together your thoughts.

He knew he wouldn't be able to say anything to you and have you blank without him getting frustrated, and that's not what he needs when he's trying to convince you on something...

Oh!

That's right.

Ba'al grabbed the scripture in your hands, "Look, in there, which one of them looks good?"

"In the book?"

" _Tenar_ , yes..." He nodded, pointing to the scribbled on the cover, " _Tensav_ _ligra_. Means cookbook."

You blushed, his accent and heavy pronunciation sounded so smooth and fluid to you. Like you could fall asleep to him talking in your ear... Like you have many times before.

"Man you're gonna have to teach me to read like some kid." You chuckled, "I was told when I woke up in the UAC base. I couldn't even speak... I had to learn English all over again."

"No, not _again_. You used to speak Argenta, not English."

You raised a brow, "I spoke... This?" You pointed to the writing within the book.

"Yup." He grinned, "It'll come naturally to you, you learn fast."

"Oh do I now?" You chuckled, hearing him talk like he knew you his whole life.

You suddenly choked on your own breath, realizing he _has_ known you his whole life.

"Yeah, like repeat after me, _erun v teok_."

"Oh, so you really _are_ going to teach me like I'm a kid?"

He chuckled, testing the waters a little by using one of his hands to hold onto the railing besides you, his arm slightly pressing against your back, "Just repeat it. _Erun v teok_."

You rolled your eyes, " _Erun_...?"

" _V teok_."

" _V_..." You tried.

" _Teok_."

" _Teok_." You finished, making him grin, "What does it mean?"

"You're an ass." He sneered.

With a scoff, you slapped his arm, making him grab your shoulders heartily and squeeze you into his hip, "Over time you will get it." Ba'al slipped out.

"Over... Time?" You muttered, confused about how long he thought he was going to keep you.

Ba'al looked down to you, seeing the skeptical look in your eyes, then huffed, looking down to his feet before pushing past you to enter his quarters again.

Oh no, did you say something to offend him?

"Ba'al?" You called after him.

"Just pick a page." He called back.

You stopped in your tracks, biting the inside of your cheek.

Great... A huge demon is mad at you now.

You did as he said, flipping through the pages in the book before you found one that looked more warn...

Some of the black printed wording looked to be drawn back in with a blue ink pen.

It gave you a nostalgic feeling in your stomach, and the small rips along the edges of the pages fit your fingers perfectly.

A bang from beside you made you jump. You looked over to the noise, seeing Ba'al looking in what looked to be a fridge, but... Different.

The cooking elements his stove seemed to be different too, and even the oven. All of similar tech, but there was a lingering unfamiliarity that made you uncertain on how to use it.

"Uhm." You walked over to Ba'al, handing him the book meekly.

He looked down to the page, a scoff resonating in his bulky throat, "Really?" He questioned.

You opened your mouth to say something, suddenly being cut off by him reaching out and patting your head, "This used to be our favorite thing to make together. You fucking with me on the losing your memory part?" He joked, smiling down at your face enclosed in his palm.

"N-No." You shook your head.

"I know. I'm just messing with you now. I knew if you had your memory; _sur ka'r ta derun n'ar._ " You don't know what he said, but with the tone of voice he used: a deep, alluring, and quite _raspy_ growl into your ear, you could tell he was using his Argenta charm to flirt with you.

You felt yourself smiling, rolling your eyes as he turned to set the book on the table, getting prepared to start his plan.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "Shit"
> 
> "Way better"
> 
> "Fuck off"
> 
> "Seriously?"
> 
> "Until my time comes... Over the kingdom I rightfully deserve."
> 
> "Please?"
> 
> "Don't say sorry."
> 
> "You're far more beautiful."
> 
> "You'd be all over me."


	28. 28 | MELANCHOLIC : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al and you spend some much needed time together

[human sybrus , ba'al , and reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628034377334603776/i-fucking-cannot-put-into-words-how-much-i-love-ur) by agentmultifreak99

[more memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628434715318403072/spacegoat4ever-meme-pilation-3-wow-already-the) and [scene redraws](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628434733336018944/spacegoat4ever-a-few-scene-redraws-from-the) and [various drawings](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628434765496877056/spacegoat4ever-non-meme-compilation-3-yet) and [even more drawings](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628653507535372288/spacegoat4ever-i-was-prolific) and [even MORE drawings](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628736646368591873/spacegoat4ever-ive-just-been-at-it-yesterday) all by spacegoat4ever

[a comic and cursed image](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628523775191908352/wugsjdjxjchxnjkshsndkcic) and [another comic](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/628523794115559424) by kiaamu

oh hey i made a [doom / reader quiz](https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12948792/which-giant-man-loves-you)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"So..." You began, "We're gonna cook this?"

"Mhm."

"Aaand, you know what to do? Because I sure don't."

"Yes. I used to know the chef and his two sons, so I'm keen on some things." Berituk looked over to you, "Hopefully, I remember how to do it because you were the one usually doing all the work."

With a scoff and a smile, you looked down at the pan he pulled from the cupboard, it looked old and very well used, but...

It seemed like it hasn't been worked with in quite some time.

"Hey... Wait, didn't you say that its customary everyone goes down to the dining hall every night?"

Ba'al looked down to you, shrugging, "Eh, I'll just tell them I was busy with... Official business."

"They let that slide?" You raised a brow, he nodded.

"Give me the book." Berituk held out his large hand. You sat the book in his hand as he started reading it, squinting at the smudged ink.

Before you knew it, he was grabbing random things from the cupboards and whatnot, shoving them in the pot.

"It won't be as good as you used to make it, _te hovik_." Ba'al gave the stew one last good stir and then reached over your head to grab a bowl.

He served you up and leant against the counter as he watched you take a sip, sheepishly tugging at his horn. With a hum of delight, you sat the bowl down, "Holy shit. This is—"

"It's bad, isn't it? I—"

"—So good!" You smiled up to him, making his nerves calm down a little, huffing out a breath he didn't know was caught in his throat.

You remembered the distinct flavor of the broth. The spices and otherworldly ingredients resonated with you, deep in the back of your mind, you knew you'd had this before. You just can't remember when.

A few minutes pass by, and you saw the bulky demon trying his own food, groaning when he thought it was over-spiced. He looked over to you, blinking slowly when you sat down the already empty bowl.

"It was that good, huh?" Ba'al teased as you wiped off your face.

Sheepishly, you tucked a loose strand of hair out of your face, "I was hungry."

"I could tell." Ba'al grabbed the bowl and tossed it into his sink, not bothering to do the dishes as of now, "C'mere I... I think I have an idea as to what'll jog your memory."

"Alright." You smiled.

The demon brought you back over to the couch, sitting you down gingerly. He turned on his heel and then begun back towards his room, going in there for a moment before returning with a thick, dusty book.

More reading?

Your brows furrowed, does he know you can't speak Argenta?

The yellow irises in his eyes dart back up to you, the glow seemed a bit fuzzier than the cold, hard light that usually emanated from within his sockets.

"Do you want... Something else to wear?" Berituk trod lightly, testing his words like you'd be weirded out if he slipped up.

You looked down at the armor set you were wearing, awkwardly chuckling, "If you don't mind. A different shirt or something would be nice."

He walked into his room once more, returning with a grey hoodie. It looked small in his hands, but when he set it into your palms, you realized how large it was.

Your eyes widened, this would go down to your knees! "Thanks. Where can I change?"

"You can go into my room." Ba'al sat down on the couch, gripping the leatherback book with a knuckle-whitening hold.

With hesitance, you tiptoed over to his room, closing the door lightly behind yourself.

You slipped off the sweats and jacket easily, then worked at taking off the armor pieces on your arms and legs, then slipped off the padded spandex.

Underneath the armor was a bathing suit-like one piece, but instead of underwear and a tanktop cut, it had shorts and a halter top.

You decided to leave that on and pull on the huge hoodie, picking up your armor and padding pieces and setting them on a chair in the corner of the room. The hoodie's shoulder slipped off your arm and the sleeves folded over your hands, the cloth practically swallowed you whole.

When you walked back out into the living space, Ba'al seemed to have a melancholic look on his face, shoulders slumped, and eyes drooped.

"Are you... Alright?" You questioned.

His gaze came up from the book in his hands to look at you, suddenly grinning and stifling a laugh, " _Arek!_ You are... So small."

You rolled your eyes, moving to sit beside him on the couch, "What's with that look?" You inquired.

Ba'al's sockets shifted to linger down at the book, "I... Haven't been able to look at this for a while." He scoot into the couch more so you could see the pages as he slipped the cover open, sighing.

The first page was blank, but then when he turned the next page, your eyes widened. It looked like a scrapbook of sorts, carefully taped together.

"You made this for me. When we were separated..." He flipped the page again, and there was a photo of you, latching onto a _familiar looking_ male's neck.

You squinted down at it, scooting over closer towards Ba'al until your legs were pressed together, watching as he flipped through the pages and pointed at photos.

Some of them had you in it, while others seemed to be of the dark haired male and different individuals, "...I remember you telling me to look at it when I'm sad, or when I'm missing you out on draft."

' _Missing me?_ '

Your brows furrowed, it hadn't clicked in your head yet what you and Ba'al once were.

"I've missed you every day since I died... But I never had the courage to look at this..."

Ba'al's nails ran over an inscription, the handwriting was clean and neat; yours.

Berituk's finger caught on the edge of a photo taped to the paper, the writing on it was much more sharp and sloppy; his.

The yellow dots in his sockets looked down to you, searching your facial expressions slowly as he muttered what the word was, " _Va'teruk_."

That sounded awfully familiar to you.

You don't know why, but it did. It put a warm, fuzzy feeling in your stomach, especially with the way it rolled off his tongue with such fluency.

Ba'al knew you wouldn't understand, making his shoulders slump over a little, but he shook his head, looking back down towards the page, "Do you at least recognize who that is?"

He pointed to the male that was in almost all of the photos, you reached your hands out to grab at the book, slipping underneath his hold for a better view so his arm was wrapped around you.

Berituk welcomed the contact fondly, moving his hand to hold your back, testing his boundaries to see if you'd allow him to cuddle you like the old days.

You were focused on the photo, examining the facial structure of the human. The hard jawline and dimpled smile stood out to you, the bridge of his nose looked rather familiar, and the broad brows.

When you didn't seem appalled, his hand moved to hold the back of your neck, his fingers brushing over the sensitive skin along the sides of it.

You seemed to lean into the touch making the demon's shoulders relax, humming out in nostalgia.

"You."

"Hm?" Berituk looked down to your face as you brought your attention up to him and away from the book.

"That's you."

He smiled, the same dimples were slightly present as he nodded excitedly, " _Tenar_. That's me."

You took your time flipping through the other pages. Ba'al seemed to pay no mind to the photographs, instead, he was watching how your facial expressions shifted and changed.

In the photos where it was just you and Argentian Ba'al, you two always had an arm around one another, big grins on your face. Until...

Your eyes wandered to a photo where _more_ than just _casual contact_ was happening.

Ba'al stood clad in some armor, big and bulky, a green similar to Flynn's praetor suit. In fact, it looked almost identical to his suit.

You were dipped in his arms, his helmet thrown over his shoulder in your hands. You could tell you had just freshly taken it off, sweat-slicked his hair to his forehead, along with soot from hell's floors smeared on his face.

It was at an angle where you couldn't see directly, but you could see just enough to know the two of you were locking lips. An embrace long-awaited since he'd been drafted out to work, you're assuming you stayed behind.

The light bulb suddenly flickered on in your head.

It all made sense now as to why Ba'al would go to such lengths to see you, such risks to obtain you.

You looked up to the big demon, a sudden familiarity washed over you as you looked at him again, pieces of a puzzle begun clicking in your head.

Ba'al smiled softly, he knew that now you realized, the unspoken understanding between you two carried out for a few more moments as you just looked over one another.

His large hand came and cupped your cheek, brushing some loose strands of hair out of the way.

"How are you... You're human here. But— How—" You looked down to the very much alive person in the book, then up to the demon before you.

"How did I die and become this?" Berituk reached up and tugged on his horn for emphasis.

"Y-Yeah." You tilted your head.

He sighed, running a hand along his face, "It's a long story. Everything after the mission where Valen's son, Sybrus, was killed and his squadron attacked by true Maykr followers for being the ' _Rise of the Rebellion_ ', it had gone downhill."

"The Rebellion?" You repeated.

Ba'al looked over to you, "The prophecy..." He muttered, "There's a prophecy, that one day someone would rise to end the Khan Maykr's reign, given strength from the divinity machine, her own creation, to destroy her." He stopped, "The Slayer... It's become apparent that it's him, who is going to end her."

"Fly— I mean Slayer? He was in the divinity machine?" You inquired, "Why isn't he..."

"Like me?" Ba'al finished your sentence, making your mouth close. You looked down at your hands, unaware of how to approach the question.

"I don't know. You're not like me, either." He spoke.

"Huh?"

"You were thrown into the divinity machine. As was he... And as was I. You two were the only ones to be submit... Alive."

Your breath hitched in your throat, shoulders recoiling lightly with shock. Ba'al watched your face scrunch up as he moved his hand to hold onto your shoulder, rubbing soothing circles into it with his thumb.

He tested the boundaries once more, moving to slip his arm beneath your knees and pull you into his lap.

You felt a little odd at first, trying to get comfortable with the new position, when he asked, "Is this okay? If I hold you?"

With a glance up to his face, you nodded, "It's okay, Ba'al." You moved to rest your head on his shoulder, being careful of the pointy sets and rows of horns on him.

Berituk tilted his head to make sure he wouldn't bonk your noggin, sighing as his large arms wrapped around you.

You squeezed your eyes shut, you don't know if you're ready to hear about your past yet.

You had been searching for it for as long as you can remember. (Honestly— That's not too long as you can't remember much—)

But now that it's here, staring you in the face... You want to block your eyes.

Ba'al-Berituk on the other hand was content on just having you here. He missed you more than you could ever imagine.

And he doesn't want to let you go, no matter how many times you try and bite him or punch him in the face with the back of a handgun.

The marauder growled out a laugh into the top of your head at the memory of you lashing out.

Truth is... He regretted that. He never meant to hurt you... But he had to do what he had to do. The Slayer would have had his head on a stake long ago.

"We were suppressed so our voices could go unheard. I was sent out to the field, the demons were just beginning to break through to our realm thanks to the humans." Ba'al continued, holding you closer as he spoke.

"I'd come home to see you every now and then. But every time I got back you looked sleepier and sleepier. You told me Valen was on your ass, along with the Khan Maykr's drones. Until one time..."

There was a pause.

"I didn't return."

You moved to look up to him, he caught your glance and locked eyes with you, looking over your face as he spoke, "I was killed, axe straight to the neck."

You had a difficult time swallowing.

"In my last breaths, I swore to the Maykrs that were watching the battle... I would be their strongest warrior in the afterlife. I would rise up and slaughter whoever they commanded me to..."

Ba'al looked solemnly downwards, clearly regretting his choices, "It was a moment of weakness. I despise the Khan. And I devoted my life to serve her." He chuckled sourly.

"They did... They brought me back to life. But at what cost? I saw the way they treated others... I knew what they were doing was bad. But I couldn't say anything, or I would get executed on the spot."

"I was... Dead. For so long." Ba'al looked over to you, "I don't even _know_ how long I was dead. They resurrected me only when they told me the Khan was being threatened as The Slayer became King and started the civil war amongst us."

"The other Marauders were so devoted to doing her bidding. The machine had driven them mad... I didn't even recognize my friends."

"I began going insane just as they had. My conscience would tell me what I was doing was wrong. But I couldn't stop. Everything was blank... Full of spite. Hatred. Rage."

"I was truly... A demon."

"But then... Then I remembered why. I remembered why I pleaded to be spared when I heard about a third Sentinel, the last living Argenti. I remembered why I needed to be alive... To make sure you were okay."

You felt yourself flush, knowing that this man before you did everything he could for you.

His thumb stroking your shoulder stopped, the two of you just sat there in silence.

You could hear the surge of the Argent port in his chest.

"Ba'al?" You broke.

"[Y/n]?"

Another pause.

"Why is your horn golden instead of red?"

You smiled up to him, trying to lighten the mood a little.

The demon seemed to be embarrassed, reaching up to tug at the twisted off bone shard protruding from his skull, "Uh— It's uh..."

He cleared his throat, "Its damaged." He pointed at the scars along his face and neck, evidence an injury had happened, "Doesn't grow back, but bigger the horn means bigger the man. It was embarrassing having a broken horn, so I did what I could and made it even better than before."

"Ohhh, so they're not like fingernails?" You reached up to his horn, replacing his hand and running your fingers along the barbed edges.

"I guess not." He watched your curious face as you messed with each of his horns.

At one point you grabbed his face and raked your fingers along his cheek, telling him to make expressions so you could see how he could emote and how the sunken in bone molded.

"How come your face is boney but your body is meaty?"

"I don't know. How come you're all meaty?"

"Hmm... Good question."

You continued looking at the red veins running up and down his arms as well, Ba'al just sitting back and allowing you to ask questions.

Then... There were three knocks at the door.

Berituk's grip hardened around you, as he suddenly stood, you still in his arms. He quickly brought you to his room and shoved you in.

He whispered out a "Sorry." As he let go of you, your back hitting his mattress, he awkwardly ducked back out of the door, clicking it closed.

You heard the noise of the heavier door opening, loud speaking was heard on the other side, greetings were exchanged in a foreign language.

"The Deag asked me to visit you, he's been concerned with your recent behavior. _Va'uek n'ar evat'ruk vaeyl butiv averkran,_ but when you didn't show up in the hall as you usually do every night, I'm starting to think there might be something to it."

"Visit me? _Nevas sur serit?_ " Ba'al's tone of voice seemed a bit agitated or confused. You couldn't quite tell.

"He said you were behaving suspiciously, _n'ar serit sur v garkur teok_ " The other voice spoke.

Then there was laughter.

Must not have been serious, then.

The two of them spoke for another moment, it all jumbled together in your mind, before there was a sudden pause.

" _Tu elv takurr, nevas tarid amikas_. As a friend, as a brother in battle. The Maykrs and Deag's are ruthless now, especially since all the prophecies are coming true with The Slayer _en raukr sekua_." The other person's voice seemed sincere, and the mention of Flynn made you glance up.

Then... You heard a deep growl, " _Nortiek serit keval._ "

The other voice seemed taken aback, "Huh?"

There was a grumble, " _Ruk butiv, vares_... Akridon." Ba'al mentioned his name, and you could hear the clap of their hands clasping together. It seemed the two were good friends.

There was sudden footfall in the hall.

Your breath hitched, hearing the slow loud of footsteps, you made a stupid attempt to cloak yourself, you flailed and slid off the bed, moving to curl up underneath it instead.

It was dusty, yeah, but it was better than getting torn apart by whatever was outside in the hallway.

You could see the movement beneath the door.

The bedroom door swung open, and Ba'al saw you wriggling from underneath his bed.

He looked confused, "Are you hiding?" He questioned, walking over to you and tugging you the rest of the way out.

"Uhh... Maybe."

Berituk looked a little disappointed, "I told you I would not let anything happen to you. I will protect you. From anything."

"I know..." You looked to your feet.

He inhaled, "Well, you living people need sleep, right?"

"I guess." You did just take a nap on Samuel, but that was a good 6 hours ago.

"You can sleep there." Ba'al pointed to his bed.

"What will you do while I'm asleep?" You inquired.

He smiled, "I have work to do on my armor."

You nodded, he pulled back the covers for you as you crawled in. Berituk pulled the blankets up for you and leaned down, placing a toothy kiss against your forehead.

Why did he just tuck you in like a father?

You laughed at the thought as he turned towards the door, softly clicking it shut after flicking off the lights.

You rolled over in bed with a huff. Slowly, your eyes began to droop, and you found yourself cuddling up in his large hoodie.

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It felt like you slept for two hours before you jolted awake, unable to pull the sudden thought of submitting to the machine.

You couldn't even remember what it felt or looked like. But _god_ did you know it hurt.

Your consciousness reached deep into the depths of your brain to scour for any information you had on the machine. All you could remember was the pain.

Meekly, you sat up. Eyeing the door.

Without thinking twice, you got up and tiptoed down the hallway, seeing the marauder sitting at the workbench in the corner of the room, chestplate in his hand.

Ba'al seemed entranced in his work. You tried to make your presence known by clearing your throat, which seemed to work.

He looked up to you, surprised, "Oh, done already? I could have sworn it was eight hours... Not three."

"Actually... I'm not done." You muttered.

"Then why are you out here?" He tilted his head, "The bed is in there."

"I know— I..." You pressed your pointer fingers together, "Can you... Come in there with me?"

He seemed taken aback by the request. But, set his armor down nonetheless and moved to stand.

Berituk walked over to you and sat a hand on your back, nodding slightly.

You shuffled back into the room and slipped back into bed, the giant fluffy covers being so heavy it kept your spot warm.

The huge demon slipped into bed beside you, laying on his back because... You honestly don't think he could lay on his sides with his horns.

Maybe if he was resting on his arm?

Whatever, doesn't matter.

You scoot over to latch onto his side, he wrapped his arms around you again, letting out a heavy breath.

You couldn't help but think of the position you were in. Maybe you found it so comforting because Flynn would hold you like this...

Speaking of him... You bit your lip wondering how he was doing.

Your eyes became droopy, and you felt yourself yawn. Ba'al caught your attention, leaning down into your ear, speaking in a low and slow drawl, " _Ehor n beval du' ver'en sur tnur,_ _Va'teruk._ "

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta Translations:
> 
> "That's alright"
> 
> "Damn"
> 
> "Normally I wouldn't think anything is wrong."
> 
> "What are you speaking of?"
> 
> "I told him that you're just a smartass."
> 
> "Be cautious, friend."
> 
> "And his female."
> 
> "Do not say that."
> 
> "Nothing... Thanks"
> 
> "It feels good to have you in my arms again, my treasure"


	29. 29 | MELANCHOLIC : V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some angst n hurt/comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> your guy's comments mean a lot to me , especially right now since school is kicking my ass . they help pull me through , so , if its not too much trouble , maybe leave some feedback ? 👉👈
> 
> feel free to drop by and talk to me on my tumblr or discord as well ! links at the end of each chapter

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You awoke with a grunt, opening your eyes slowly. The blue light in the room was so bright it stung your eyes, and the warm body you were lying on top of seemed to shift.

For a moment of bliss, you wrapped around the individual's neck more. Thinking it was all just some odd dream, and you were back with Flynn in his bed, sleeping underneath Vega's ambient light.

Two large arms engulfed your form, a grumble was heard above you but you weren't awake enough to realize what was said.

Soon, you started to wake up, though. The far-off chants and loud rumbling, along with the screams of demons and warriors started to shake you awake.

Were you having a nightmare?

You tensed up, the person underneath you felt this, moving to hold you closer and whisper a shush into the top of your head.

In the process, the blankets were moved off of you, cold air brushing along your skin and making you shiver.

Your eyes opened all the way at that, glancing upwards to meet two yellow blobs.

It took you a moment to blink the sleep away and focus, a large, bony hand coming to cup your cheek.

Bony?

Wait...

"B-Ba'al!" You squeaked, sitting up. You were completely on top of him, using his chest as a mattress, now you were sat atop his lap, straddling him just barely due to size difference.

"Are you finished sleeping now?" He questioned.

"U-Uh—" Your eyes followed his hand as he brushed your messy hair out of your face, "Yeah."

"Good. Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm." You nodded, "Did you—? Did you sleep?"

With a grunt, he replied, "No."

"Then why... Why didn't you get up? You could have told me to move." You sheepishly glanced downward at his chest pressed against yours.

"I didn't mind." He spoke, then cleared his throat, there was an odd look on his face.

Then his fangs parted, "I... I missed you. Holding you."

You glanced up to him, he was watching your face, deliberately trying to map out the expressions you made to capture a cohesive emotion.

The yellow orbs in Ba'al's eye sockets looked fuzzy, softer than their usual piercing and stagnant maroon. You watched his shoulders slump at the lack of your reply.

The demon sighed, leaning his head back on the pillow and looking away from you. He knew you couldn't feel the same way he felt about you because of what he was.

A _demon_.

He regrets asking, no— Pleading to be brought back. It was a cowardly moment.

And he's paying the price now.

When you grabbed ahold of him last night and pulled him closer, he was wide awake the entire time, eagerly cuddling you.

Ba'al decided at that moment, that maybe if he pressed his feelings a little harder, you'd possibly see that he _still_ was the _same_ person he was before, just in a different— More demonic— Body.

As he kept thinking, he began doubting himself. He knew what the problem was, though...

You didn't _know_ who he was before... You didn't have a memory.

He began to think about how you immediately recognized him, so he knew...

He knew somewhere in there, there was some hope.

Berituk had a displeased look on his face. You moved to slip off of him, immediately as you did, he stood, facing his back towards you.

His fists were clenched, looking down to the pale skin covering his palms and the claws at the end of his fingers.

Ba'al wanted you back _so_ bad. And even though you were here... It felt like you were still away.

The bed was cold without him in it, and there was a lump in the pit of your throat.

You started searching for the right words, but then decided to just blurt out whatever your heart came up with, knowing it was the truth;

"I missed you too." You finally replied.

He looked over his shoulder lightly, eyeing you out of the corner of his socket, he seemed surprised.

"I know I can't remember much, and that's probably what's frustrating for you, right?" You questioned.

He stood still, but you knew it was true.

"It's frustrating for me, too. It always has been, and I'm sorry I can't remember."

You could see his muscles loosen gradually.

"I want to remember _all_ of you so bad." You sighed, looking away from him and running a hand through your hair, "I _know_ I know you. I _know_ I know this place. I just fucking know it. The words you say to me—"

You swallowed, attempting to repeat the one that stood out to you the most, " _Va'teruk_ —"

It almost looked like that word made his knees buckle.

"They're all so familiar, Ba'al... And I want to remember them all so so so bad..."

You looked up to him, locking eyes just barely with the red dot still focused on you, "But... The things I do remember about you still count. I remember you being kind... An-And sweet. And I remember you being there for me, always."

You slipped out of the covers, placing your bare feet on the cold floor. Ba'al watched you move over to him, however, he stayed put, eyeing you waddle over in his hoodie.

Slowly, you wrapped your arms around the behemoth of a demon. Your fingers came nowhere near reaching each other around his abs.

"Thank you... For giving me a chance to remember." You looked up to the back of his head, smiling lightly, "Thank you for bringing me back here, and thank you for making an effort. It helps. You help."

You never thought you'd be thanking a demon for kidnapping you. But, here you are.

You thought he was mad, angry at your slow response. However, he was still and frozen like a statue, soaking up all the things you said to him.

That brief interaction was all the demon needed to get that push forward.

He was secretly beginning to lose hope, your brain was more fried than he thought but, with those words, he was right back up on his feet, determined as ever.

Ba'al didn't know how to react, honestly overjoyed.

You washed away the doubts he had and replenished his hope. The swelling in his chest wasn't from the argent port, no, but from his heart.

You pulled away due to the lack of response, sadly turning back to the bed to sit down.

Ba'al suddenly swiveled around, you gasped lightly as he flopped directly on top of you. You let out a surprised squeak as he nuzzled into your neck.

The two of you relaxed, letting out a relieved sigh.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, "So you're done being grumpy?"

Ba'al propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at you with a goofy smile on his face, "I'm not grumpy."

"Yeah, you are."

Berituk moved to get up again, rolling his eyes, "M'not grumpy." He stood up, stretching, peppier than he was a moment ago, "Get dressed."

"Why?"

"The automated trashcan has been buzzing me for an hour now." Ba'al pointed to the Argent implant on the side of his head, it was surging a bright blue. Must be referring to Hayden.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked comfortable, and of course, the new _sev'r-agenta_ needs her rest." He spoke, then left for you to dress yourself, shutting the door and throwing a wink at you.

Meekly, you slipped off his large hoodie, and pulled on your ARC uniform, thinking about the new word he had just used on you.

Your mind wandered back to the conversation you had before... Ba'al said the Slayer wasn't fit to rule... Or the Khan.

His words repeated in your head " _The Slayer is not one of us..._ _I don't obey Khan's commands. I tolerate her... She will fall, and I will rise. Over her, over the people... Her honor means nothing to me._ "

The gears in your head began to spin.

Walking out of the room a few moments later, you caught Ba'al clipping on the last of his armor.

"Hey um..." You began, "You seriously want to be... _King?_ "

" _X'er tevin_. Of course." He seemed a lot more serious now, maybe he was still grumpy.

All armored up, you could see him being king of a warrior race, honestly.

"How would you... Get that rank, exactly?"

"The current king must fall. Then I can fight in the arena to prove my honor as I have before."

"F-Fall?" You questioned, "Like die? Who's the current king?"

Ba'al looked over to you, his expression sour despite being cheerful moments prior, "Slayer."

"You'd... You'd kill him?"

"Or battle him for the right to be king."

He watched as your face seemed to relax.

"You... _Care_ about The Slayer?" He snarled.

You looked over to Berituk.

The two of you held eye contact for a moment, "I just don't think he means any harm—"

Ba'al then slammed a fist on his desk, glancing over to you, "You side with him after what he's done? I was going to think nothing of you being an ARC soldier and helping the humans, but now I'm becoming quite skeptical about your alliance."

You squinted over to him, "I became an ARC leader because I had no other choice! I woke up with no fucking memory and was being told by some cyborg that it was _my_ job to save the world—!"

"Well, now you _do_ have a choice."

He took a few steps forward, you took one back and immediately bumped into a wall. The demon's palm was now beside your head, pinning you there.

"You have the choice to join me in the New Reign of Resistance as my queen, you don't understand the power you hold against the Maykrs and _all_ of hell. I have been told stories of your strength, your fight. You're a true born weapon..."

Berituk's growing smirk suddenly faltered as he said the second option, "Or fight with those pathetic cowards." His finger jabbed at the jacket on your chest, scraping at the ARC logo.

"I thought you and Samuel were working together?"

"I used him to get my hands on you. The only thing tethering me now is this shit." He pointed up to the surging Argent port again, "I need it in my battle against the Maykrs, or The Slayer."

You squinted, "Aren't you being a bit hypocritical? You're literally working with the humans now for your own benefit."

Ba'al opened his mouth behind his mask, biting his tongue and letting out a grunt.

There was silence for a moment before he realized he just got his ass handed to him.

"Always we're a good arguer." He muttered, looking down at you.

"It's a talent." You smiled.

He moved to turn away, but you had one last question spring into your head;

"Hey wait." You called, "Uhm— You know that word I said earlier?" You recalled his shoulders tensing at the mention of it, much like how they did now.

"What does it mean?" You questioned, "It sounds so familiar."

"It means... Treasure." He smiled sweetly, "Since I am soon to be king—"

He took three steps forward, leaning down and setting a hand back besides you on the wall.

"—you are my treasure."

The other hand came to grab at your chin, tilting your head upright.

"The thing I admire and protect, _Va'teruk_."

" _Va'teruk?"_ You repeated, testing out the word.

Ba'al suddenly got close, "Say it again?"

" _Va'teruk_." You said, more confident.

The demon hummed, closing his eyes for a moment and dragging a hand down his face, "I have somewhere I want to show you. Are you ready?"

"I think so." You muttered

"Let's go." Ba'al held out a hand.

You took it, the same red-hued portal opened up behind him as he led you in. 

You were caught off guard as you were suddenly outside, the air was cold and crisp, and the sky was a pretty blue.

He sat you down, on the hillside, prompting you to look out over the ruined city.

"You recognize this place?" Ba'al questioned.

"No." You spoke, bashfully rubbing the back of your neck.

"That's okay." He hummed, then smirked, "It's where me and you used to sneak off during practice in the arena and smooch."

You felt yourself flush, "R-Really?"

"Mhm," Berituk nodded.

"How did we not get caught?" You inquired.

"We were sneaky." He spoke, smirking, "One time, though..." He began

You smirked, ready to hear a story.

"I brought you down here as I did every other day. We sat under that tree and you pulled me close, just as we normally did... Then, you wanna know who caught us?"

"Who?"

"Deag Nilox himself." Ba'al smirked.

You gasped, "No fucking way."

"Yes—" He chuckled, "Two hundred push ups later and a smack on the back of the hand and we were sent back to training. I expected him to at least punish me, if not you. But... He just let it slide."

You rolled your eyes, glancing over to the tree he spoke of.

"Well, I just wanted to show you this place—" Ba'al stood.

You stood, too, the two of you looking at one another.

"Thank you." You spoke.

Awkwardly, you grabbed onto his bicep, slowly pulling him down to you.

You couldnt really kiss his cheek because of the mask, but you pressed a kiss to his temple, making his shoulders tense for a moment.

Berituk stood back up, blushing slightly as he muttered out a few words in Argenta, then opened up another portal.

With a giggle, Ba'al led you in, your boots landed against the ARC base's floors.

People glanced over to you two. Berituk immediately put on his "look at me I'm big bad demon grrr" facade.

A human scurried up to the two of you, "H-Hayden asked for you in his office on arrival, commander [Y/n]."

"Thank you." You smiled, making the person's nervous aura suddenly die down lightly.

It sparked right back up as they looked towards Ba'al's scowl and red irises, they fumbled on their steps as they hurried away.

You looked towards the demon, "Where will you be while I'm here?"

He grunted, "I have some things to clear up in hell." He popped his knuckles, "I'll be back tonight. For my _Va'teruk_."

With a roll of your eyes, you waved as he stepped back through his portal. It closed momentarily after that, you glanced down the long hallway you were in.

You began your walk to Sam's office, biting your lip in thought.

When you reached Hayden's office door, three scientists were standing outside of it, glancing at you sheepishly as you made your way to the door.

Hopefully, Hayden's in a good mood. That dude has more mood swings than a two-year-old.

You held your breath as you opened the door, that scientist and the ones outside seemed pretty frantic...

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	30. 30 | VEXATIOUS : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flynn and vega take action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait . iv'e been getting my ass handed to me with recent events .
> 
> also , i am going to be doing some editing and change the names of the chapters ... again ik ik , but it'll be worth it ! the idea i have will be really cool , just wait and see .

[memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629515355075772416/spacegoat4ever-memepilation-6-mcfuck-there-may) and [reader](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629515302043025408/spacegoat4ever-copying-some-art-of-women-with) and [reader and the guys dancin / scene redraws](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629876133915213824/spacegoat4ever-this-time-its-a-combo-of-reader) and [more memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630245737482108928/spacegoat4ever-memepilation-like-6-or) and [even more memes](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630691629738655744/spacegoat4ever-i-did-like-3-pages-of-memes-in-2) and [various sketches](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630643683842310144/spacegoat4ever-if-my-style-would-stand-still) and [simptober day one](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630820230415941632/spacegoat4ever-simptober-day-one-doomguy) and [simptober scene redraws](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631088165128749056/spacegoat4ever-simptober-week-1-part-1-decided) all by spacegoat4ever

[reader and churro](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629992814326038528/magicgirlsatan-major-props-to-1-800-sat-anic) by magicgirlsatan

[simptober day 1](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630820313065832449/scene-redraw-for-simptober-of-churro-and-doomguy) and [simptober day 2 and 3](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631070966622060545/want-to-participate-in-simptober-list-of-scenes) by Iris07

[meme redraw](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629778204760145920/i-sketched-this-a-while-back-i-dont-know-why) and [flynn and reader being stupid](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629763067303116800/enjoy-these-two-being-idiots) and [flynn and reader being stupid part 2](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/629732860700590080/flynn-tells-reader-made-up-things-about-earth-to) and [simptober day 1](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630835765288501249/i-finished-just-in-time-for-the-first-day-of) by me

[JOIN SIMPTOBER HERE](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/630819841559986176/super-simptober-drawing-challenge)

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Anger wasn't even the beginning of it.

Flynn's jaw grit tighter as a demon's head was slammed into the wall.

Vega had suggested some stress relief as he worked on finding a signal for the portal. But it was encrypted to the depths of hell and back, also extremely difficult to do with little to no power.

"Unclench your jaw you're going to break your teeth," Vega spoke.

Taggart grunted within his helmet, moving to raise his arm and stab whatever thing was attacking him from above.

He sighed as he heard the last body flop to the floor, standing there breathing heavily within.

"The portal is opening now. I will power down the weapons gallery and redirect the energy to the med bay, you are low on health."

This is the fourth time already he's cleared out an entire city of demons.

He drug his feet like a child over to the materializing portal, begrudgingly entering. The smell of rust clung heavily to The Slayer, along with caked-on layers of thick blue and red metallic blood between the dents of his armor.

The hub had only a few lights on, making Flynn's brows furrow more as he slipped off his helmet.

His forehead was bleeding, and it looked like his lip was too, the exposed parts of his arms had bloody claw marks in them, the flesh ripped to ribbons.

"Make your way to the medical faculties," Vega instructed.

Taggart complied, his muddied boots leaving tracks of dirt behind him. Without even thinking, he flopped into the medical pod, armor, and all.

"You must unarmor."

Flynn let out a grunt.

Vega sighed. It was clear he was down about losing you, the AI was too— _Somehow_.

He still isn't quite sure how he can feel emotions more than he's programmed, but he guesses its just because he's gained more sentience and personal relationships than originally intended.

"I know you're upset. I am too. But please, if you want to get her— [Y/n]— Back, you must be capable of doing so."

Flynn let out another mumble of words, sitting up to unclasp his boots and begin working at his gauntlets.

Vega would have smiled if he could, that's the best friend he knew.

His words suddenly broke the silence, "Vega?"

"Fly?" The AI responded.

"I... I think I know where she is."

"Oh?"

"I was in a UAC facility. The last few transmissions it received were of someone talkin' 'bout the missing ARC leader being back in command..."

"[Y/n] used to be ARC personnel. You think Samuel pressed her into being commanding officer once again?"

"That would explain why the portal was blue." Flynn muttered.

There was a moment of silence as Flynn stood up to shuck off the metallic plates on his legs.

"It said somethin' else..."

Vega urged him, "And that is?"

"..."

He didn't speak for a moment.

"They're working in secret with a demon."

"A demon?"

"A marauder— No, _the_ marauder. Tha one that took [Y/n]."

Vega processed the information. The AI was usually one to look on the bright side, a true optimist, but this... Was just hard to swallow.

He watched as the marine laid back in the medical pod, closing the glass shield.

"At least..." Vega tried, "At least we know she's safe."

Flynn's face seemed to soften at that, his permanent frown seemed to seize and his teeth stopped grinding.

"You think so?" Flynn looked up to the ceiling, not looking at anything in particular.

"Yes. She's Hayden's commanding officer, and if the marauder is working for Samuel, then chances are the situation is not a threat."

There was more silence, Flynn looked deep in thought as the medical pod did its thing, fixing up any large wounds.

"Do you have a database of all runnin' ARC and UAC bases?"

"Affirmative."

"How many are there?" Flynn inquired.

It took Vega less than a second to access the information, "Major UAC bases, 4. Minor ones, 2. Major ARC stations, 5. Minor ones, 2."

"Where at?"

"All over. Minor UAC bases are hidden and ARC will be more difficult to locate as most are mobile squadrons."

"You think she's in one of those?"

"ARC, maybe. UAC... Less likely, but it could be a possibility." Vega confirmed, "I suggest we go there anyway, as I could access their power supply and gather more information from private transmissions."

Flynn bit his lip, then nodded, "Alright..." He closed his eyes, feeling the stinging of medical spray being adhered here and there.

His brows furrowed when he felt something warm on his face. Flynn opened his eyes to see what's wrong, squinting when his vision was blurry.

He blinked a few times, finally understanding what's happening as the warmth dripped down his neck.

Wet.

His eyes were wet.

Flynn wiped his eye on his shoulder, unable to use his hands since his arms were being worked on.

"Would you like me to leave you for a moment?" Vega questioned, seeing the tears drip down Flynn's cheeks.

The AI knew his best friend usually never cried. And when he does, it's usually due to stress.

But... He was detecting no stress chemicals in Flynn's brain, instead, worry and regret.

"N-No," Flynn spoke, his words were broken.

That was a first. Usually, he'd never allow people to see him upset.

"Alright." Vega concluded, "She's safe. I promise. We'll get her back."

"But what if—" The burly man took a breath in, trying to steady his wavering tone, "She doesn't want to come back?"

Vega's voice caught in his imaginary throat.

He didn't consider that.

"Why wouldn't she want to return?"

"I— I dunno I jus'..." Flynn hiccuped, even, "Why _would_ she want to come back?"

"To... Be with us." Vega muttered that sentence, but Flynn heard, "She was content here. I know she was because I could sense the serotonin. You— _We_ made her happy."

"And when that Marauder was here. She was not happy. I'm positive she wants to return."

Flynn sniveled, and finally, the machines released his arms so he could bring his calloused fingers up and rub against his flushed cheeks and puffy eyes.

"Okay—" He responded.

Is he really crying over someone he just met three months ago?

This isn't like himself at _all_.

Taggart never cries.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to process himself and what this sudden outburst of emotions meant.

The male let out a groan as the medical pod's door swung open. He slipped out and, without thinking twice, made his way straight to the living space where you slept sometimes.

It was dim, the lights were barely on but that didn't matter to Flynn. He walked over to the cage beside the couch and unlatched the gate, reaching inside to pull out a wad of brown feathers.

Churro, who has turned rather feisty as she's gotten older, squawked and flapped her wings. Flynn sat down on the couch, bringing the hen up to his chest to pet it.

The chicken soon calmed down, but the opposite happened with Flynn, his eyes watered and his teeth dug into his busted lip.

He let out a whimper and laid back on the couch, taken aback when his cheek rested against something soft. Flynn looked up to see the t-shirt he's given you tossed on the back of the couch... It still smelt like you, too.

That seemed to open the floodgates, The Slayer choked out an odd mixture of a pathetic whine and a threatening growl.

He felt that his throat was already sore from his muscles straining and jaw clenching together. But, no matter how angry at himself he grew, his hold around the ball of feathers still remained soft.

God, how could he let you get away?

Why did he drop his weapon?

That could have been the last time he'd ever seen you and—!

Flynn squeezed his eyes shut, heavy tears running down his face.

No.

He was going to get you back.

But even getting you back is out of his control...

He felt utterly... Helpless.

Flynn pulled the hen closer to himself, Churro did _not_ like the contact but allowed it anyway.

Why...

Why did he care so much?

Why did he _ever_ care so much about you? You were just some measly little runt, half-dead when he ran across you.

It's true; Flynn hadn't seen a live human on Earth for a _long_ time now...

He likes to tell himself that's what drawn him to you, the surrealism of finding someone strong enough to survive down there.

But then... You were so sweet and kind.

And he was so hesitant to do _anything_ at first, but you welcomed him with open arms.

And then you both started finding out how your lives were so entwined, both affected by the same events, both just missing one another by _days_.

That makes Flynn wonder if he was supposed to meet you back then. Back when he was in the Sentinels, back when he fought Olivia on Mars.

He doesn't believe in fate, but damn...

You were just... Perfect.

" _Fuck!_ " Flynn brought his hand up and pressed his palm against his forehead.

He was mad he let you go. Mad he couldn't be with you right now due to his own stupidity...

He wants you back.

No no— At this point he thinks he _needs_ you to be back.

Flynn can't even think straight when you're gone, he can't focus at all. Every time he tries to close his eyes to go to sleep, he sees you, your smile.

It drives him nuts.

He just... He misses you.

That's what he's trying to tell himself. He misses your companionship—!

That's all!

Nothing more, nothing less...

But oh... He's suspecting it's becoming _more_ than just missing you.

Flynn's fists clenched. He sniveled again and pinched the bridge of his nose. With a grunt, he rolled over and buried his face into the t-shirt on the side of the couch, humming contently when he recognized the smell of honey and coconut; your hair conditioner.

He hiccuped and smashed his face into the T-shirt. Churro was not happy with the burly man involving her in his wallowing, but the hen stayed put nonetheless.

Vega didn't want to intrude, so he stayed in the hub, looking for precise locations and coordinates for each ARC lab.

The AI found his work to be...

Slow.

That's usually never the case, Vega can usually set his mind on doing something, and have it done within a millisecond.

But... It took him a moment to find files, and even longer to read them.

He was quite... Distracted.

By what, though?

The AI should be able to work flawlessly!

He was alone— No one was speaking to him, asking him to multitask.

That... May be the problem, though.

Vega found the silence...

Sickening.

Vega wished he could hear you talking up to him as he did his tasks like you used to do, asking nonsensical questions about Earth, Mars, himself, you name it.

He would usually be annoyed at people piling tasks on him or bothering him as he worked.

Although he's happy to help— Well, _programmed_ to help— They begin to build up.

But, Vega found his conversations with you, even as he worked, to be quite enjoyable.

He'd even lighten up and tell jokes or jab a sarcastic remark here and there— Something he isn't supposed to do.

The AI's not supposed to show he's more human than he seems, Dr. Hayden told him it'd "scare people" and to act robotic, to talk properly.

You, though... You laughed.

You weren't scared at all, in fact, you seem fascinated when he first quipped and sneered.

You laughed and you smiled at him.

Vega then remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

He lost track of his task... _Again_.

The AI dug through the files, pulling up what signal the transmissions were coming from, then traced it back to a remote city on Earth.

That's where they'd start looking first.

Vega moved to speak to Flynn down in the living space, but caught his voice when he saw the marine passed out on the couch, Churro angrily shifting beneath his heavy arm.

He let out a barely audible, "Oh."

Looks like he wasn't the only one affected by your absence.

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"It is not too far from here. I had to open the portal quite a ways out in case there were demons. We don't want to draw attention to the last few running bases, so keep a low profile." Vega spoke, Flynn grunted within his helmet, his head was killing him despite the nap he took earlier.

Low profile, huh?

Flynn looked at his hands within the metal gauntlets, humming.

That meant no loud gunshots to draw attention.

His eyes trailed back up to the broken cityscape in front of him.

"Head south. I've marked the location for you." Vega directed.

"Thanks, bud." The Slayer called back, heading off towards the marker on his helmet visor.

Of course, he was met with demons along the way. His hand twitched towards his shotgun before he remembered... Low profile.

He rolled his shoulders, and his neck, then popped his knuckles.

The zombified humans suddenly had a look of "Oh shit" on their faces, before the look was wiped off with a straight punch to the jaw.

The Slayer created a trail of demon bodies behind him using only his bare hands. He only slowed once the indicator in his helmet warned him that he was nearing the UAC faculty.

It looked to be in an old building, 20-foot concrete walls surrounded it.

Surprisingly, it seemed unscathed, newly constructed.

Those walls might be able to stop demons, but Flynn? Well, he's no demon.

With a running start, the bottom of his cleats caught into the divots in the rock. He hoisted himself, and his thousand-pound armor up like it was nothing.

As Flynn reached the top of the wall, he scanned the area. No one was outside, must all be locked up within.

Or... Dead.

He made his way to the large doors, it took Vega a moment to access everything, but he allowed for it to just open right up.

Flynn grunted as he walked inside. The dank smell of stale and unmoved air seeped through his ventilators.

"This facility has an underground compartment, just like the one we found [Y/n] in. I'm detecting life signals, there are people here." Vega spoke.

Flynn nodded in understanding, wiping some blood off his visor. It was only a matter of seconds before he was tearing down doors, looking for a working computer or living being.

"What's the layout of this place, bud?" Flynn questioned.

It took Vega a moment, longer than usual, before he replied, "There's a comm unit in the leftmost building."

With one last nod, The Slayer's gauntlets grabbed ahold of another door, ripping it from its hinges.

His footsteps faltered when he encountered a room full of geared up scientists. They all stared like deer in headlights.

Most were obviously scared, some seemed worried, others looked a slight bit happy?

Flynn eyed them through his visor before walking straight forward, they all scrambled to get out of his way, clearing a path right to the other door.

This time, instead of him ripping it off, he politely opened it. He made no move to glance back at the people, he had somewhere to be. Something to do.

The Slayer left the humans there as he went into the next room. They stood like statues before one of them began to scramble over to a central security console.

Despite the other human's hesitance, the one determined UAC grunt slammed in a few commands, then began trying to output a transmission.

He fumbled with his hands for a minute before the screen said, "Transmission accepted" and another UAC scientist was on the other side.

"What do you need?" They asked.

"Th-The Slayer. He's here." The group of terrified humans spoke.

Flynn made it to the central comm unit, his fingers immediately reached to the keys on the holographic screen as Vega guided him through the process.

He scanned through the recent outputs; supplies, supplies, death count, supplies— Ah, _bingo_.

Information about all the up and running bases.

But... Nothing about you.

Flynn's fists clenched. He began trying to swipe through it more, but suddenly the screen froze up and locked.

"It seems they know what you're after and have locked you out," Vega grunted, almost as disappointed as Flynn.

"At least we got the locations of the other bases." Flynn grunted, "They gotta have somethin', yeah?"

"I'm sure they do." Vega agreed.

Flynn took a step back from the comm, moving to leave.

"I've marked the mobile ARC base on your locator. Proceed with caution, the demons in this part of the city are rather ruthless."

The Slayer snarled, "I'll show 'em ruthless."

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	31. 31 | VEXATIOUS : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find out about Flynn, Hayden's time is running out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys , the reason why this chapter took so long is because i actually went back and rewrote half of the book . sooo , be sure to go re-read because there's like 5 chapters worth of new content .  
> also , be sure to leave me some feedback ! :)
> 
> you can comment / leave kudos even if you don't have an account ! and i love hearing from you all ( ꈍᴗꈍ)

[ her oc , reader , and flynn ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631165207993106432/ive-recently-joined-the-fandom-and-out-of-the) and  [ flynn crying ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631611995986198528/carmsweet16-ive-been-recently-reading) by carmsweet16

[ reader in a galaxy dress ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631520341851799552/dont-be-nervous-we-love-your-art) and  [ reader and doomguy ](https://stardust-artsatical.tumblr.com/post/634546752201031680/cheesed-to-meet-you) by stardust

[ simptober vega 1 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631433311697453057/by-sweaterpal94) and  [ simptober vega 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631530064780132352/want-to-join-simptober-scenes-to-redraw-and) and  [ simptober vega 3 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631808894181736449/want-to-join-simptober-scenes-to-redraw-and) and  [ simptober sam 1 & 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632359487781617664/want-to-participate-in-simptober-scenes-to-draw) and  [ simptober baal 1 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632921045619392512/simptober-rules-and-scenes-here) and  [ simptober baal 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633060181995094016/join-simptober-here) and  [ simptober baal 3 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633344431641280512) by sweaterpal94

[ simptober flynn 5 & 6 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631422297087131648/want-to-participate-in-simptober-challenge-rules) and  [ simptober vega 1 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631809093028413440/want-to-join-simptober-scenes-to-redraw-and) by iris07

[ flynn simptobers ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631419124210335744/spacegoat4ever-part-two-of-yrwys-simptobers) and  [ yrwys memes ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631604606203527168/spacegoat4ever-memes-never-stop-good-redraw) and  [ yrwys memes pt 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/631825588309688321/spacegoat4ever-lotsa-smoochies-random-clothes) and  [ vega simptobers ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632000016478846976/spacegoat4ever-week-two-of-simptober-for-yrwys) and  [ yrwys memes pt 3 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632358612498579456/spacegoat4ever-ayyyy-lmao-read-you-rip-what-you) and  [ sam simptobers ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632720665089310720/spacegoat4ever-week-three-of-simptober-for) and  [ yrwys doodles ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633284796547825664/spacegoat4ever-been-practicing-lotsa-kisses) and  [ yrwys doodles pt 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633284839977762816/spacegoat4ever-been-practicing-lotsa-facial) and  [ baal simptobers ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633360548738859008/spacegoat4ever-baal-week-of-simptober-for) by spacegoat

[ hayden and reader ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632232942341701632/ahhhh-this-is-so-pretty-im-so-happy-to-see-you) by mieramsteinner

[ baal getting owned ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/632958908649127936) by thelongertheiconofsin

[ baals tattoos ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/633810879057690625/yeah-so-i-drew-baal-originally-i-drew-him-on) and  [ samuel hayden ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634134244477779968/stink-robot) and  [ vega's mech ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634134067504431104/j-just-a-concept-for-my-boy-vegas-mech) and  [ flynn back when he was a himbo on mars ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634262249033383936/my-idiot-brain-be-like-what-if-this-hot) and  [ reader trying to figure out the boys ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634407749377310720/click-for-better-quality-jfc-tumblr-when-all) by me

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hayden sat at his desk, bouncing his knee up and down impatiently. For the first time in a while, the husk of a man wasn't just an empty cyborg, he was unfortunately filled with worry and anxiety.

He glanced down to the rolled out blueprint before him, letting out a sigh as he scanned over all the improper calculations and slightly off graphing.

The humans with him were getting sloppy. That's one of the downsides about being a cyborg, no one could get perfect calibrations and systematics like he could. Hayden could spot the mistakes with a mere glance.

He took ahold of a nearby pen, it looked quite comical as he attempted to use the tiny writing utensil and circle the incorrect markings.

When he sat the pen down, it was bent in the middle. Hayden would have scowled if he could.

There were always drawbacks to being an immortal, argent-powered trash can. But, he swears there's more benefits than cons.

There was a buzz at the door, making the cyborg look up, he leant down and pressed a button on the screen of his desk so the entrance would slide open.

In came a scientist, awkwardly fumbling with their lab coat, "Hello Dr. Hayden. I'm the head of communication down in the comm."

"Greetings." Hayden called, the human awkwardly tapped their toes together.

"I'm up here because we've been contacted by another base."

"Oh? Why wasn't I notified?"

The human stumbled, "I— Th-They— This is as soon as I could possibly notify you."

"You could have notified me that they were calling so  _ I _ could have answered." Hayden spoke.

The human opened its mouth, Hayden held up a hand, "There's no need. What was the issue?"

"U-Uhm. The Slayer, s-sir,—" The human stumbled on themselves, "H-He had broken into an ARC base reportedly even two other UAC bases, and was using Vega to allocate files on C-Commander [L/n]."

It took him a moment, but soon, Hayden's fists clenched.

He's looking for you.

"Hm. Tell all the other bases about the sightings, make it an official broadcast. Do you know exactly what reports he retrieved?"

"N-No, sir."

"…Tell them to be prepared for his appearance, don't respond violently unless he does, but if he shows up, cut the power to the base."

"C-Cut the power!?" The human seemed worried, "Th-The defenses will fall, along with communication, a-and main weaponries—"

"The Slayer is after something important. He has to be or he would not be searching through our databases. We can not give him access."

"B-But what could possibly be in there that's so important—" The scientist tried to retort, but Samuel's robotic finger was jabbed in their direction, their mouth snapped shut.

"Do not tell me how to run my own facilities."

The human nodded, quickly moving to shove themselves out of the door.

Hayden sighed, standing to then access the holographic screen on his table. He went and pressed a button connected to Ba'al's argent  _ tether _ .

What?

You think he was going to create a high-powered demon and not have some sort of restraint on him?

Of course he added a secret tether to his argent implant.

He needed you back here. This was the safest base, built after what happened on Mars.

It's gotta be safer than wherever that demon had you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It's been an hour. Hayden had become a little more frantic, pacing his office as 2 more Slayer sightings had been reported, and still no sight of you.

Well, the good news is, if The Slayer is still going, he doesn't have you.

Bad news is, Samuel doesn't have you either.

The cyborg began to tap his fingers on his desk impatiently, pressing the button once more to send a zap of argent through the demon.

A few minutes later, the intercom announcement voice spoke, making Hayden's head snap towards his door.

He stomped over to it, quickly opening the door to see your small figure standing in his waiting room.

You glanced up to Sam, "Hey—"

Hayden felt relief was over him when he saw you, taking a step forward, "You— Where have you been?"

He looked tired. How do robots even look tired?

You don't know but he pulled it off.

"I was asleep." You hummed as he walked over to you, gently looking you over like he was concerned.

"Do you need a medic?" Samuel's voice was low and soft, his drawl became slower than normal.

"No, I'm fine—" You assured.

"Where did he take you?"

"…Uhm, I think it was called like… D'nur?" You questioned your answer.

Samuel seemed to tense up at the name, you raised an eyebrow.

He then cleared his throat and went right back into being his snobby self, "Well, you're late for a briefing." His loud booming voice was back, and his tone was flat.

"A briefing?" You questioned.

"Yes, I called one because of the blueprints for the BFG. They are… Atrocious."

You let out a chuckle, Hayden felt himself ease up.

"So, what happened while I was gone? Anything?" You inquired.

Hayden looked down to you, thinking about The Slayer for a moment. He hummed, he still didn't know your relationship with him. If you hear he's looking for you, you may leave in the blink of an eye.

"No." Samuel lied.

"Ah, all the fun stuff only happens when I'm around then, hm?" You joked, elbowing his thigh with the armor pad.

Samuel chuckled, "Come on, [L/n]."

He moved to walk out the door. You followed him, having to take twice as many steps as normal to keep at an even pace.

The cyborg led you to a meeting hall, even  _ more _ frightened looking scientists stood outside, waiting.

What's with them? Are they alright??

"Sorry we're late." Hayden spoke, "But I'm sure all of you are understanding."

The 5 humans nodded their heads.

"Excellent," Hayden walked into the room, you waited for the humans to walk in as well, but they were too timid and wanted you to go first.

Samuel set at the end of the table, you watched as everyone piled in, not daring to sit at the end with him.

He must be in a bad mood, or something.

You moved to sit, Samuel suddenly stood and pulled out the chair for you.

"Wow what a  _ gentleman _ ." You mused, sitting down, he pushed your chair back in for you and sat back down as well.

The humans watched, some skeptical and others utterly surprised.

Hayden then cleared his throat, snapping everyone out of it, "So I assume you know why we're here. The BFG is still in disrepair. What is everyone's status on that?"

The humans all spoke about their individual tasks and the groups they set out to aid them.

You were spacing out the first 20 minutes, until Samuel powered on the holograms and started dismantling the gun virtually.

He stripped away layers of metal until he was at the core Argent supply, "So, we've already concluded the problem on the outside, correct? Now all that is left is the issue with the core."

They all nodded.

"What seems to be the exact problem with it?"

None of them could answer that question, though. They all looked to one another, expectantly waiting for an answer.

None came.

"Hm." Samuel hummed, looking down to you, "I suppose this is where you come along."

Your head raised, "Hm?"

"We require your expertise on alien tech... You seem to be, quite accustomed to it." Hayden spoke.

Ah, he was referring to the time you repaired him after one of his missions.

"Yeah. Let me take a look at it."

Samuel looked up to the humans, "Do you have the revised blueprints?"

They quickly handed them over and Samuel told them they were free to go, turning to you and rolling out all of the blueprints on the table.

"Well, work your magic." Samuel spoke, rolling the last one out.

You squinted, looking them over, "So... This one is for the outer shell, right? ...This one is for the inner mechanical shit... And this one?" You pointed to the last one.

"For the gun components."

Your eyes widened, leaning in, "Hayden what the fuck?"

"Yes?"

"This thing is  _ huge! _ " You cried, lifting up the blueprint and examining it further.

Samuel let out a snarky laugh, now you got the jokes he was making earlier. You grunted as you sat the blueprint back down and glanced at all the uneven lines and off equations.

Man it's been so long since you did math like this, you don't know if you'll be able to—

"I can do the equations." Samuel sat back down, seeing your disgruntled face. He leant on his hand, relaxing a little since it was just the two of you.

"Okay." You sat back down too, leaning over the blueprints. Oh boy... These were... Way off.

This was gonna take a while.

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You sat down your 3rd cup of coffee. Samuel had his head on the table in front of you, arms splayed out in agony.

The two of you were in there for a good 4 hours. Literally none of this shit made sense.

Samuel was muttering ominous death threats about how hard the humans had fucked up.

He had revealed to you that most of his top scientists were lost on Mars, and most of the personnel in ARC were either unqualified or weak at their profession. He sent most of the surviving top scientists to different bases so they could stay in order like the Phobos base you were in now.

"Are you almost done?" He questioned, not bothering to even look up at you.

You glanced over to him crossly, "Hey, I told you you could leave hours ago."

Hayden moved so his chin was resting on the table as he looked at you, eyelight hazy and dim.

Oh man he looked tired. More tired than back when Oliva was bothering him. And that was... Not good.

You found yourself propping your head up, just looking at him as well.

The two of you stared at one another, in a tired daze, before you blinked rubbed your eyes, "Have you been getting your Argent infusions and everything?" You asked.

"Hm. Not recently." Samuel muttered.

"Why?" You glared over to him.

"Not enough time."

Huh, short, blunt answers were not his thing. Something must be really itching at the bot.

"Is everything okay?" You softly spoke, reaching out to grasp ahold of his large robotic hand.

The contact made his eyelight flare as he sat up a little, "I'm fine."

"Sam..." You pressed.

He did not respond, only motioned to the blueprints, "Have you finished?"

You side-eyed the paper on the desk, "I think? A few errors on the base meant everything was miscalculated and unaligned. But it should be fixed."

He stood suddenly, moving to stand at your side and gaze over the prints.

He gazed over the equations one last time, running his rubberized fingertip along the white writing.

"They seem correct to me." Hayden muttered, standing straight up.

You stood too, stretching. Samuel caught himself watching as you moved to pull your orange jacket back on.

"So, what now?" You looked over to Samuel as he gathered the prints up, "You know I..." You began.

" _ We _ —" You spoke, "Haven't... Had that much time to... Well, talk."

Samuel looked down at you as you spoke. Usually you could tell his emotions rather well but it was difficult now.

"I thought about what you said. Wanting to ' _ talk _ '." You fiddled with your thumbs, "I shouldn't have... Lashed out. Yeah I was pissed... And scared, but."

There was a moment of silence where you bit your lip.

"But I... Trust you." You concluded with a chuckle, "I, unfortunately, always have."

Samuel let out a small laugh as well.

There was another minute of silence. But... It was the warmest silence between the two of you had in a while.

Hayden moved, suddenly ushering you through the door. You just now realized how weirdly shaped this place was, as Samuel tugged you towards one of the main hallways.

It had a large window with an open view of the outside world. You darted through the other people traversing through the hallway to press your face against the window.

Hayden heard the pitter patter of your tiny feet scuttle off, making him stop in his tracks and look around for your small figure.

Your breath caught in your throat as you looked over Mars. The glass was tinted black to regulate the temperatures of open space, but you could see fair enough.

It was covered in demonic ruins, surging with red hot lava, just like Earth. But then, you saw it.

The biggest gun you've ever seen, bigger than a semi truck, was pointing idle up into the void of space, yet to be fired.

"That is a... Big fucking gun."

"Yes, the  _ Big Fucking Gun _ ."

You snorted, "Is that what it's actually called?"

Hayden nodded, "The BFG 10k."

You mischievously cackled, "Who the hell named it?"

He shrugged, "No one. It just adorned its identity from reactions like yours."

You glanced back out to the gun, then you caught yourself looking back to Mars. Samuel watched as your face faltered.

"Is... This the first time you've seen it since..." Samuel didn't finish his question but you knew what he wanted to ask.

"I've seen photos." You spoke, "But... I never thought it was... Actually..."

"Have you seen Earth?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Your hands slid down the glass and you took a step back, looking to your feet.

A hand was placed on your shoulder, Samuel gave it a slight squeeze as the two of you began walking once more.

You made it to one of the main control centers, looking to all of the workers slacking off at their computers.

Two humans were stacking pencils on a third human's forehead as they slept. Other humans were onlooking and giggling childishly.

Hayden cleared his throat, "Is that productive?" He asked like an angry father.

They all startled and sheepishly moved back to their work desks. Some of them leant over and pointed to you, speaking to others as their eyes were glued on your face.

You found yourself standing behind Hayden's leg a little more, but he placed a hand on you back and moved to pull you towards his office.

Once you were in there, he offered you a seat at his desk. You sat down and he moved to open the shutters on the windows.

Outside would have been a prettier sight if everything wasn't... Covered in demons. But, that's okay.

"We haven't really gotten a chance to catch up on everything since..." Hayden trailed off, looking at Mars. He turned back to you, "Well..."

"I know." You spoke, watching as he sat down across from you.

"What happened while you were in hell?"

The question tackled you and almost took out your knees, making you look down to your hands.

"It's— I don't think you'd understand."

"Then explain it to me."

You inhaled.

"You know how... I'm... A Sentinel?"

The cyborg nodded.

"Well, when I came back on the other side, I wasn't where the portal was supposed to end up. I met a man named Valen... He was the commander of the Sentinels."

Hayden looked down to his hands on the desk. He knew one day you'd come into contact with Argentians, but... He didn't think it'd be so soon.

"He told me about the people's downfall. And... He asked me if I'd remembered him..." You sighed, "I didn't."

"He wanted to take me to D'nur, but. We were immediately found by the Deags."

"They  _ saw _ you?" He interrupted.

You looked up to him, "Yes?"

He seemed to sweat.

"But I— I ran. I made it back into hell, and then... I don't know how long I was in there but one day I just saw a huge portal. And it— It opened up on Mars but everything was..."

You looked up to the window, "Well... It was that."

Samuel looked over his shoulder at the cracked surface of the planet.

"I took an escape pod to Earth when I saw that no one was left... An-And the sarcophagus was open. So I... I was a coward... And I ran."

Hayden shook his head, ' _ you aren't a coward _ ' he grumbled in his mind, but found himself saying something different;

He sighed, "When you... Didn't communicate with me I thought...That you might have lost your memory again. I was..." He tried to find the right word, " _ Concerned _ about you."

"What?" You didn't even process the fact he just opened up a little bit, "I  _ did _ try to contact you from Earth. All the base's power was off."

Samuel whispered an "Oh..." followed by, "I... Did that so the portals wouldn't open up on Earth, too."

"Sam, you know just because I'm pissed off doesn't mean I'm gonna cut you off." You reached for his hand on the table, "It doesn't mean that I— It doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

He stiffened, Argent ports shimmering.

"I know sometimes I'm an asshole but... I was pissed off more at  _ myself _ than I was you... I was a  _ coward _ when I ran... I— I was so  _ stupid _ thinking I could go to hell..."

"And I know you care about me, too." You glanced up to him. His argent ports surged, "Even if you showed it in the worst fucking way possible—  _ Kidnapping _ me— I realize now... That you were trying to protect me, right?"

Hayden nodded.

"Even Ba'al was just trying to help, you were trying to make sure I was okay." You glared up to him, "But god fucking damn it Sam, maybe ask next time?"

He chuckled, "I do... Tend to act irrationally."

You let out a breathy laugh, looking out to Mars.

There was a moment of content silence before you decided it was his turn to do some talking, "How'd it happen?"

Samuel sighed, "Olivia..."

You furrowed your brows at the name, Jesus Christ, Sam. Haven't you told him enough times to fire that bitc—

"I fired her after she... Sealed you in that portal."

Oh.

"I think that's what had spiraled all of this; when I fired her... But I couldn't let her leave my sight or she would expand her cult down to Earth."

"So I kept her here. But she was filled with hatred... Vengeance. I don't know exactly what she did, she had to have used the lazarus waves and manipulated them until they're so strong, because one… Just  _ one _ wave turned half of my workers into zombies."

"Then she opened up the portal. I had no choice but to release The Slayer. Unfortunately… He didn't get to her in time. And the other half died as the demons came out." 

You looked down to your feet, "Well… Now that's all in the past."

He grumbled, "Yes… Now we have bigger things to worry about."

"Unfortunately…" You sourly laughed.

Behind you, the door slipped open, "D-Doctor Hayden, about the Slayer he's—" Then the scientist saw your startled face looking back to them.

They realized they fucked up. They were given specific orders from Samuel not to let you know, and this unfortunate human had just managed to break the only rule setup.

"The Slayer?" You questioned, "What about him?"

Hayden pinched where his nose would be.

Fuck, and he thought you two were getting somewhere.

"Well, might as well tell us." Hayden leant back in his chair, slumping over.

"He— He is nearing the last of the facilities. Some were unable t-to cut the power in time, and even if they did he just used V-Vega to power them all back on."

Hayden let out a long sigh, "What did he take?"

"He couldn't find anything in the time he had. We encrypted everything."

"Take?" You butt in, "What's going on, Sam?"

"The Slayer… Has been adamant on knowing your whereabouts." 

Your stomach squeezed… He's… 

Looking for you.

"He's already tore through multiple cities, killing demons in his way. He's an unstoppable force when it comes to what he wants." Hayden sneered.

"He's… He's out killing?" 

"This is the most he has killed in the past 4 months."

You glanced down to your hands.

He's… Known you for 4 months.

Does that mean you were right? Like when you went to fight the Deag you just… Slowed him down?

But… He's looking for you, right?

"Time is running out." Samuel spoke, "I need you to ensure me you will be able to fulfill what I asked you to do. To persuade him."

You looked up to Samuel, unsure.

"It's you he's after. You're the only one that can stop him or calm him."

"I-I don't… I don't know, Hayden."

" _ Please _ ." Samuel sounded urgent, grasping your hand, "That's all I ask you to do." 

Huh, yeah. 

Persuading Flynn to work with Hayden.

Ha! He says it like it's such an easy task…

"I need… Time." You whispered, "To think."

Hayden gripped you harder, leaning in so the other person couldn't hear, "[Y/n] you know I would give you anything I could get my hands on but time— Time is the one thing I don't have anymore."

You brought your hands to your face, whining, "I can try? I can try to convince him to fight hell with you but— I can't say he's going to say yes." 

Samuel pondered for a moment. He guesses that's as good as an answer he'd get for now.

He shooed the person away, leaving just you two in a silent room. 

Hayden watched as the cogs spun in your head, waves of emotion going over you.

Happiness, he's out there looking for you.

Worry, he's probably hurt.

Regret, you were holding him back.

Confusion, how would you persuade him.

You spewed a colorful amount of curse words in your head, feeling Samuel reach up and grasp your hand to let you know he was there.

Fuck… Shit… 

How were you gonna do this?

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	32. 32 | VEXATIOUS : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ba'al and you revisit old memories

[ father vega singing to reader ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634985373220601856) by stardust

[ amgy ba'al ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635008708108238848/himbo) and  [ happi ba'al ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635008759201234944/oops-i-kissed-him-he-was-too-irresistible-sorry) and  [ reader's arc outfit ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635445905698570240/arc-uniform-ref) by me

[ reader ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635220953818939392) by thatgaysian

[ reader and maykr flynn ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635359265484324864/i-tried-to-draw-his-maykr-skin-but-it-looks) by mieramsteinner

[ memes ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635814816235290624/90s-au-quake-flynn-human-baal-readers) and  [ sketches ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/635814788950278144/assorted-collection-of-sketches-some-redraws-read) by spacegoat

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Your hand slid out from underneath your head resting on the tabletop, sitting up at the loud noise behind you.

With a grunt you rubbed your eyes, huh… Must have fallen asleep.

You looked up to see Sam sitting across from you at his desk, an angry finger pressed to his face as he told the person behind you to quiet down.

Skeptically, you turned around to see Berituk with one of his ridiculously large horns stuck in-between the automatic door's sliding parts.

Hayden sighed, "Real stealthy for a war general."

Ba'al growled, yanking his head back and ripping some of the metal on the door with the barbs on his horn.

Man, you've seen him do some real damage with those things. You wonder if he headbutts people as he fights and has cadaver kabobs on his head.

You looked over to Sam, "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, I didn't want to move you and—" He glanced over at Ba'al, " _ Disturb the peace." _

Berituk snarled in response, the two glared at one another as he came to sit down in the chair next to you.

It was comical seeing him fit into a human sized chair, much like when Samuel did, his knees were up to his chin.

The marauder glanced over to you and reached out with his gauntlet to pat your head as if you were some puppy.

However, you were too tired to shoo him off, allowing his heavy hand to knock against your skull.

With a grumble you got up, slurring out something like "I need to pee, too much coffee." 

The boys watched as you exited the room. When the door closed Samuel looked to Berituk, "So?" Samuel spoke.

"The Slayer keeps on taking out all the hordes." He grunted, "But… I've noticed the interest he has in your shitty human bases. You aren't on his side, plotting something behind my back, are you?" 

Samuel shook his head, "I'm not as low as you are. I am beginning to think you have an issue with self projecting onto me."

Ba'al snarled, "Better knock that shit off you overpriced can opener."

Samuel would have rolled his eyes, "I have instructed my employees to turn off the power and to not make contact if he goes into my bases."

"The Slayer is pushing through all the hordes I'm putting on him. You told me to hold him back but whatever he's after… He wants it  _ bad _ ." Berituk leant back in his seat, crossing his arms.

Samuel huffed. That's… Not good.

The past few days as Slayer had been raiding all the bases, Samuel tasked Ba'al with holding him back. Of course, the cyborg might have left out the part where The Slayer was looking for you.

But, Ba'al's attempts seemed to be ineffective.

"I need you to ensure me you'll be able to keep him away." Samuel urged.

"I will do what I see fit." He spoke, not about to take direct orders, "The Deag is weak. I have power over him. But it will not be long until he finds out." Berituk stood.

"Finds… What, exactly?" The cyborg questioned.

"That I've halted all the progression of the invasion for you and our deal."

Hayden grunted. Shit.

"And what would he do if he were to catch on?"

"There's nothing he  _ can _ do." Berituk spoke, "He can't tell the Khan because then I'd be gone, and I am the only thing protecting him from The Slayer.

Hayden hummed, contemplating.

"Well. I have business to attend to." The Commander spoke.

Samuel watched as the demon straightened his armor out and moved towards the door. The scientist called out to him before he left, "Oh. If you see [L/n], ask her to come in here, will you?"

The Demon shrugged, "Sure."

He opened the door leading out to the hallway and took one step out, this time focusing too hard on not getting his horns caught, so he toppled right over the top of someone.

On the other side of the doorway stood you, the top half of your jumpsuit tied around your waist and the straps hung loosely around your hips. You were too tired to redo all the work after undoing it to use the restroom, so you were too sleepy to notice the giant of a man on the other side of the door.

Ba'al felt your forehead knock against the artillery pouch on his belt, grasping your shoulders as the two of you stumbled, " _ Xetan, xetan, keoro sur _ ."

"Are you awake?" Ba'al spoke, giggling behind his mask.

No, you were not awake yet, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes; "Yes." you replied, despite the opposite being evident.

Berituk chuckled, "Of course you are." He moved to stand, "Before we go, the metal ass wants to speak to you." 

You snickered, nodding as you moved to step around him. You walked through the waiting room and back into Sam's office.

He was fiddling with a paperclip, his head lift to glance at you, "There you are. Before you're gone I need to warn you."

"Alright. Sorry I fell asleep on you." You sheepishly spoke.

"You were working all day, it's understandable." He then leant over the table, his voice dropping low, "I must advise you not speak about The Slayer looking for you to the marauder." 

Oh… That's right, Flynn… Your shoulders drooped.

"If you do, he might not bring you back. He thinks he can protect you better than I can." Hayden spoke.

You nodded, "Okay." You bit your lip, "I'll keep quiet."

Samuel brought one finger up and tapped his faceplate. Oh, he used to do that when he wanted a kiss. 

You rolled your eyes and pressed your lips to his cheek. He seemed pleased, "Stay safe, duckling."

You blushed lightly, "Oh man. I haven't heard that one in a long time." 

The context behind the name came from when you were a UAC Elite Guard. You'd follow Sam around all day as he went about his tasks, like a baby duck following around its mom.

You were never really sure when people started calling you that, it was just as long as you could remember.

Samuel used it to tease you a lot. Especially when you two were arguing and you were winning. He'd throw out an "alright, if you say so, duckling" and you'd freeze up on the spot.

The cyborg chuckled as you stood straight, "I'll be back tomorrow." You waved.

"You have your boot knife?" He questioned.

"Ba'al wont hurt me!" You scoffed back at him.

"No, but other things will." He spoke.

You were already halfway out the door, "Yes  _ mom _ I have my boot knife."

Hayden chuckled, "Good." He watched as you waved and the door shut.

Ba'al was busy having a glaring contest with the 2 ARC Guards all geared up in riot suits when your tiny footfall caught all their attention.

You waddled up to the demon and tugged on his cape, rubbing your eye, "Ok, we go now." You spoke.

The guards snickered at the sight of the most fearsome demon and ARC guard being idiots together, but the look was wiped off their face as Ba'al opened up a slipgate.

He offered you to go first, and when you did, you were hit with a rush of cold air, making you shiver and move to pull your jumpsuit top back onto yourself.

A piece of cloth suddenly obscured your vision, he had pulled the same hoodie you were wearing last time over your head.

"It's cold here." He spoke, "Sorry. Its uh… What do you call it?" He pointed out towards the window.

Your eyes widened, "Snow!" You shuffled over to the window, excited as can be.

" _ Sssnow _ ." Ba'al repeated, "D'nur gets lots of it." 

You opened the door to the balcony, immediately regretting it when you took a step out and shivered.

Ba'al grabbed you and yanked you back into his quarters, "What're you doing?!" He barked, "It's  _ t'veras vaskal _ , rush hour. Someone will see you."

"But—" You yawned, "—Snow!"

"Later. Besides, you look too tired to even hold yourself up." Ba'al spoke.

Damn it, he was right.

You glanced out to the window, pouting.

He moved to take off his armor, hanging up his large fur cape, "I want to show you something but it will have to wait until _exulta-novar_ _harvur tevn_."

"What does that mean?" You questioned.

Berituk bit his tongue, right. You don't speak Argenta anymore, "Military forces changing stations."

"Oh." You stood in the middle of the room, watching Ba'al as he tore himself from his armor.

He turned back to you, when he was only in his leg armor, awkwardly stomping to his room for a moment.

You took the opportunity to glance at the bookshelves he had around. All of the spines were in a familiar yet indecipherable language. 

One book caught your eye, and your fingers reached out to grab it, slipping it from the shelf and opening the hardcover.

To put it plain and simple, you had no fucking clue what this book was saying. But you couldn't peel your eyes away from studying the ink printed on the paper.

Ba'al came back with some fuzzy flannel pyjama pants and tight t-shirt tattered with holes from his horns. He glanced down at the book you were reading, "You understand it?"

You shook your head no, looking up to him, but stopping when your words were cut off with a snicker, "Where do you even find stuff in your size?"

"Same question for you, puny." He spoke, plopping down on the couch as he watched you pout.

You kicked off your shoes and pulled off the bottom half of your jumpsuit and straps. Sighing when you could get out of the heavy gear, but shivering when the cold hit your bare legs.

"Are you cold?" Berituk put a hand on the back of the couch, patting it, "Sit." He spoke.

You did as he commanded, moving to curl up at his side. He grabbed a heavy knitted quilt off of the back of the couch and draped it over the two of you, kicking his feet up on the oaken coffee table.

The book was still in your hands, he noticed the look on your face as you held it up to him, "What?"

"Will you read it to me?" You gave puppy dog eyes, pleading the best you could manage.

His face scrunched up, "What do I look like? A bard?" 

" _ Pleaaase? _ " You persisted.

He glanced down at your face, his cheekbones seemed to flush for a moment before he snatched the book from your hand with a grumble.

Ba'al opened the book, refusing to meet your gaze. Aw, the big brute was blushing.

You reached over and latched onto his arm as he held the book, resting your head on his bicep. He seemed to enjoy the attention, glancing down to the pages.

"You want me to read it in human?"

"You mean English?"

"Whatever." He grumbled.

"Can you?" You inquired.

"I'm not very good at translating it." 

"Then read it to me in Sentinel and make it  _ 'human' _ after."

"You mean… Argenta?" He squinted down at you.

You gave him a smug look repeating him, "Whatever. What's the book called?"

He smirked, looking down to the book, " _ Ligra Sultagenta _ ; Book from the Kings."

You hummed into his arm, watching the snow out the window, "Ok, read it to me, bard."

" _ Teur'r la'x vashal bevit, Etrex toradu duvak Sultagenta, v bar'venir dera du'uk Argenti."  _ Ba'al began, _ "Ruk-du'keno norvi'ek k'tarr stevas syull gavux laren en D'nur _ ."

He glanced down to your face, seeing if you recognized any of the words, "You know what I just said?"

"No idea." You admit, "Sounds pretty, though. Tell me?"

Ba'al searched his mind for a moment, roughly translating, "In the Time of Grief, when King Etrex sat on the throne, rejoice came to the people of Argenta. Strange beings from above the stars brought hope to D'Nur." 

"Who are they talking about?" You spoke, leaning into his arm more as he read.

"Maykrs." Ba'al spat, then continued to read, " _ Y'tvex su'tevak dera hok karad xe'arav nevas, nu'tura t'v ty'her en del'ar; la'x Deags b'tevak gavux. Larak keives a'tar Khan Maykr, ker sok'xar _ ." 

Then for the English, "We were betrayed by our own kind, they were fueled by greed and hate; I and my people were deceived by the Deag. They were allies to us at first, but then they side with the Khan Maykr and her horrible methods."

You grimaced, "The Khan and the Deags, hm?"

He nodded, propping the book up on his knee to continue. You nuzzled into his arm as he continued, happy to just listen to the hum of his voice.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You were shaken awake when the hunk of a man beneath you shifted. 

As you sat up off of his chest, your brows furrowed— you don't remember dozing off, but it seemed like Ba'al didn't mind since he settled right in and shifted you atop of him.

The demon seemed to be asleep underneath you, one arm on your back and the other draped over his eyes.

With a grunt, you laid back on his pecs, twisting the material of his shirt that smelt strongly of pine beneath your fingertip.

Before you fell asleep you remember he had read about a fourth of the book to you. Paragraph by paragraph.

When you thought you had understood a word, the meaning would flip flop and you'd get lost again.

He then explained that the variation of the word depended on the context of the sentence, so not always would those words be correct. 

The language was very precise and strict, you're noticing most things around here are.

"You going to stop gawking at me,  _ va'teruk? _ " Ba'al peeked out behind his arm, a sly smirk on his face.

You flushed, realizing you'd been spacing out staring down at his covered face.

"I know I'm just  _ sooo  _ handsome." He said sarcastically, raking his bony hand down his skull, "Wouldn't you just wanna kiss  _ all over _ me?" He grabbed your chin and pressed his teeth against your temple.

You flushed more, giggling lightly as he continued to kiss along the side of your face. He went from your temple, to your cheek, to your jaw, to your neck, to your collarbone, and finally to your exposed shoulder from his baggy hoodie slipping off your form.

With a fiery heat to your cheeks, you swatted him away. He chuckled into the crook of your neck before pulling away and reaching up to tug at his horn, "You ready to see what I was talking about?"

"Station swaps are already done?" You gawked, "H-How long was I asleep?"

Berituk glanced up at a clock on the wall, " _Y'vur…_ _Katu…_ Eh, four or five hours."

"You know you could have moved, right?" You felt guilty for pinning him here for so long.

"And risk waking my  _ sev'r-agenta _ ?" He placed his hands on your cheeks, " _ Yuduk n'ar del'ar nevas. _ " 

"Hm?" You hummed, "What does that mean?" 

"What,  _ sev'r-agenta? _ " He tilted his head.

You nodded, "All of it."

"Queen." He smirked down at you, " _ Du'uk xar exultar'r-agenta keno _ . You and I will be royalty, because I will be king one day soon."

Oh man, your face was probably as red as the tips of his horns, making Berituk snicker. He ran his fingers through your hair before sitting up, taking you with him, "Get ready to go."

You moved off of him to grab your jumpsuit, he got up to slip back on the rest of his armor as well.

As the two of you finished suiting up, you turned to him, "Alright, I'm ready." You spoke.

Ba'al glanced down at you, "It's cold where we're going, you know."

"That's ok, my ARC uniform is insulated." You pulled on the straps around your thighs.

He hummed, then shook his head in disapproval. Berituk took ahold of the discarded hoodie on the couch and picked it up, pulling it over you again.

You giggled lightly as he took ahold of your small hand, ripping a slipgate open. As soon as it was open, cold air hit you.

With a shiver, you took a step forward after Ba'al. Oh man he was right, you sure are glad you have this hoodie.

In front of you was a giant hall. Vines growing in-between the castle walls, and bricks knocked loose as ceilings collapsed. There was about a foot of untouched snow inside the hall thanks to the giant holes in the structure.

The marauder's large hand came to grab the back of your head after he finished clipping on his mask, pulling the hood up over your head, "Taras Nabad is abandoned, but just in case. I don't want anyone to see your face."

You looked up to him, "Why?"

Ba'al didn't speak for a moment, "You… Have a bounty." 

You stopped, looking up to him, " _ Wh-What? _ "

"The Deag has convinced the Khan to put a higher bounty on you. You already had one, but now… Now it's in full force." Ba'al continued down the hall, trudging through the snow.

You wondered how he didn't get cold with his armor exposing his arm. Probably because of his big fur cape. Or, maybe it was the fact he was a demon?

"Why? Do they know I'm here?" You frantically inquired.

"No—! No." Berituk hurriedly leant down and grasped ahold of your hand again, "I told you I would keep you safe; no matter what." He inhaled, "The Deag is trying to deter the Slayer from getting closer. The asshole is a coward."

You glanced down to your feet… Flynn.

As the two of you kicked through the snow, Ba'al noticed the saddened expression on your face. He tried to pull you out of the sour mood, leaning down to pick up some snow and flick it on your face.

You spat as it got in your mouth, grimacing and leaning down to grab a handful and shove it into the wedge between his skin and armor.

The huge demon let out a squeal, trying to shake the snow from out of his armor. You stood, giggling like the little evil gremlin you were, when he picked up a mound of snow and shoved it down the back of your hood.

The two of you stood, throwing and tossing snow at one another in a giggle fit. Ba'al had picked you up at one point to grab multiple handfuls of snow and throw them at you so you couldn't fight back. 

You used the height advantage to dart under his legs and toss snowballs at the back of his head until you shivered and shoved your hands into your pockets.

Ba'al had on two gauntlets, while your hands were bare. He noticed your sudden halt, "Are your hands cold?"

You nodded.

"Come on, if we keep moving they'll warm up."

Berituk put a hand on your back, leading you to a more well-kept hallway. The two of you stood under the roof for a moment, shaking out all of the snow in your clothes, and taking a step into the castle.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Uhhh. You said the name earlier… Taras Nabad, right?"

"Yes, but. Do you recognize this room?" Ba'al held his hands up and motioned to your surroundings.

The stained glass windows and gold lined banners looked familiar to you, but you couldn't quite place it, "Uhm. A… Castle?"

"Who's castle?" Ba'al quizzed, looking at your flabbergasted face.

"Uhm. I…" You pressed your pointer fingers together, "I'm not sure. It… It all seems so familiar to me but… I just can't—"

Berituk looked just as disappointed as you felt in yourself.

"I'm s-sorry—" You whispered.

He shook his head, his yellow eyes now a blaring crimson, "It's not your fault. I'm…" The demon huffed, "I just... Couldn't— I  _ can't _ do anything about it."

You bit your lip, "But you're  _ trying _ ." You grasped his large finger, "That's all that matters."

He squeezed your hand, sighing with a nod, "This was King Novik's castle. We are outside Valen's workspace, where you used to help him design military tech." 

Your eyes widened as you looked around, "R-Really?" 

Ba'al nodded, watching as you shuffled around the hallway and glanced at all the engravings on the wall and shields hung on the wall.

The marauder moved to open up a large door, motioning for you to go first.

You did as he commanded, eyeing the interior of the room. Within were blueprints for strange machines all written in the same language as the book you were reading.

Ba'al looked around for a moment, moving to a small oak desk in the corner of the room.

He opened a few drawers, before pulling out a small black box. Berituk muttered, "Here it is." And popped open the small chest.

You hopped up on your tippy toes to look around his shoulder at what he was doing. Within the box was a sleek and beautiful knife, the carvings in the handle were intricate and smooth.

Ba'al looked down to you, clearing his throat with a flush to your cheeks, "Do you… Know what this is? This is  _ your _ workspace."

He held the knife out to you as you took it in your hands and flipped the blade about. You looked up to the demon's hopeful eye sockets.

You shrugged, "It's— It's familiar but…"

Ba'al sighed, his shoulders drooped, "Hm."

"What is it? I mean— Besides a knife." You slid your finger across the blade. It was so incredibly sharp it nicked your finger without you applying any pressure at all.

"I made it… For you." Ba'al sat down in one of the chairs in the room, huffing, "It's… It's symbolic."

"For what?" You tilted your head, giving him the knife back as he held it in his hand.

"It means I trust you with my life." The demon put it plain and simple, "When someone presents the knife to someone else, they get on their knee and bow their head, handing them the handcrafted weapon at the same time."

You felt yourself flush, this man really loved you in the past, huh?

"Keep it." He stood, facing you, "It still means the same thing, after all these years, you know." 

You heard the sound of his knee pad hitting the ground. Ba'al-Berituk ducked his head, his horns barely missing your shoulders, holding the knife up to you.

With a dark red spread over your face, you took the knife in your hand. He remained in the same position till you found yourself giggling, "I'm not going to stab you, you can get up."

He raised his head so his eye sockets met yours, you took his masked jawbone in your hand and took a step forward, pressing a kiss to the bridge of his nose.

The marauder seemed surprised, watching as you replaced the bland knife in your boot holster with the one he just handed to you.

Ba'al smiled behind his mask.

You didn't remember him for the Argenta he once was, you only know him for the Marauder he currently is… 

Yet… You treat him just the same.

Something clicked inside of the demon's thick, stubborn skull. Maybe he was trying to open a locked chest, trying to pry at something that was no longer there.

There was no way he'd get back the past. But it didn't seem to matter, because you were here now. The same old you.

He could start new. Yes, it would be hard, but… 

Ba'al would do it for you.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta:
> 
> "Sorry, sorry, small one."
> 
> "Over my dead body"


	33. 33 | VEXATIOUS : IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al takes you to the arena to show off his cool moves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo , i have up to chapter 35 written , but i'm trying to get on a more regular updating schedule of every 2 weeks , so those chapters won't be out till later
> 
> also; SORRY IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR FANART HERE   
> ^ like i said , i have up until 35 written , so it's depending on when you sent it to me and what chapter i was working on at the time .   
> don't worry , i saw it , it'll be featured in either 34/35 !

[ flynn doodle ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/636945650299338752/small-low-render-flynn-is-good-for-the) and  [ marauder doodle ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637256360021671936/tiny-marauder-to-cleanse-your) and  [ cute ba'al ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637256503075717120/my-ever-growing-need-to-cutify-everything-brings) and  [ flynn ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637256231302610944/youve-seen-small-low-res-flynn-now-get-ready) and  [ ba'al cooking ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637491939815653376/fetch-me-a-man-that-can-cook) and  [ flynn eating readers burnt cookies ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637491849241739264/i-feel-like-yn-could-burn-a-bowl-of-cereal-and) by thatidiotagain

[ D O R I M E ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637070527889031168) by stardust

[ vega pog ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637584942905344000/pogger-noises) by thatgaysian

[ drawing collection  ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637495693921206272/spacegoat4ever-an-assorted-collection-of-me) by spacegoat

[ ba'al's weapons ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637440533636268032/heres-my-weapon-designs-for-baal-berituk-from) and  [ vega's mech redraw ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/637530387302711296/what-if-i-draw-vega-for-the-500th-time-but-this) by me

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As Ba'al got home, he looked over to the spot on the couch where he left you, panicking when you weren't there. The demon had just gotten back from Samuel's to get another day with you. His Argent port started to zap him when the bot decided it was time for you to come back. But, instead of bringing you back, he decided to go and tell the automatic can opener off.

The two exchanged some colorful vocabulary as they sassed one another, but Hayden reluctantly accepted you could stay once another report about The Slayer came through.

The large demon glanced around the room before he heard the small pitter patter of your feet coming down the hall. His scarlet irises landed on you before fading a soft gold, his tense shoulders relaxing.

"Where'd you go?" You questioned, crawling back onto the massive couch, "You weren't here when I woke up."

Ba'al inhaled. Samuel had warned him not to tell you about slowing the Slayer down, "I was getting more time with you." He spoke.

Well, it wasn't a lie. But it wasn't the full truth.

"Oh, what'd Sam say?" 

"He said as long as you are home by tonight." Ba'al smirked, "I plan on bringing you back in the morning, just to keep the metal bastard on his toes." 

You snorted, "Hey don't be mean to him. Sure, he may deserve it but… He's… He's sweet sometimes."

Berituk rolled his eyes, "About as sweet as cyanide." 

It was your turn to scoff, watching as the giant man moved to open a slipgate, "The Deag is hosting a battle in the Coliseum." 

You raised a brow as he plunged one hand in, "What does that mean?"

You heard his hand hit something metal, "It means I have to go to the Arena and watch some idiots lose a fight." He pulled his arm back out of the portal, yanking out a limp body by the neck.

The unexpected sight made you squeal with fright, the demon looked up, confused, then looked back down to the figure in his arms, "It's just armor." He spoke.

"Oh—" You lowered your guard, watching as Ba'al propped the white suit of armor up onto the wall and popped off the bucket shaped helmet.

He knelt down to your height, plopping the helmet on your head.

"What are you doing? Ew— It smells bad in here." You almost gagged, it smelt like dust and copper.

"You are coming with me." 

Your eyes widened, "D-Down… There?" You motioned out the window to the Arena.

Berituk nodded, "Trust me, you're the safest with me. I'm the most respected person here, even more so than the Deag."

"Th-The Deag…" You slowly pulled off the helmet, "Is he… Here?"

Ba'al looked at you for a moment. He couldn't lie his way out of this one.

"Yes…" He spoke. You found your muscles tensing.

"Don't worry. He is old,  _ getiva _ … Frail. I am the only thing standing between him and his death. The Slayer wants to chop off his head, and I'm the only protection he has. He can't do anything to me— Or you— If he tries."

You nodded, watching as Ba'al took apart the armor. He walked over and grabbed your arms, holding them out.

He seemed displeased, looking from you to the armor, and from the armor to you, over and over again.

" _ Du' keoro _ . You're a small one." Ba'al muttered, then shrugged. He walked over to the armor and began beckoning for you to put it on.

You struggled, since the armor was made for someone about a foot taller than you. You had to roll up cloth, bunch up fabric, and tuck in loose straps, but you managed.

As Berituk tightened the chestplate around you, you realized you could barely see over the top of it. And as he placed the white bucket onto your head it tipped over from being too big. You reached up and straightened it out.

The Marauder pat your head, moving to pull on his mask, "Here are some rules." He spoke.

Rule one: " _ Tur _ , stay 5 feet behind me at all times, not too close, not too far."

Two: " _ Sev _ , don't let me out of your sight or we could get seperated."

Three: " _ Exta _ , remember that armor means you are the lowest here. You stand to the left of me if we stop. If you see another Marauder you move out of the way."

Four: " _ Y'vur _ , do not speak to anyone. If anyone tries to speak to me, you stand there still and quiet. 

Five: " _ Katu _ , don't touch anything I don't give you. That includes the gun on your hip. If you draw your weapon you will be on the ground in half a second."

With a gulp, you squeaked out an "Okay".

Ba'al walked over to the huge wooden door, placing his gauntlet on the handle, "Are you ready?" 

No, you weren't. But, the door was already open and he was already sticking his head through to check the hallway.

He reached his hand behind himself and grasped your head, shoving you out into the hallway before himself.

And with that, the big door to your safe room was closed; you were now vulnerable.

Oh man, you felt  _ tiny _ here. Ba'al looked normal sized, he fit right in with the red carpet, stone walls, and over the top stained glass windows.

You, on the other hand, did not.

The demon began walking down the hallway without warning. Your feet hurriedly shuffled after him. You kept stumbling on the big bulky armor and having to yank your chestplate down, trying to see over the top.

Berituk kept glancing behind himself, making sure you weren't falling behind. And then you heard him start walking down some stairs.

You tried to look down to the floor, but the helmet kept slipping and you couldn't even see your own feet.

Meekly, you reached out to the stone wall to try and stabilize yourself, but your hand quickly pulled back once you remembered Ba'al's warning as to not touch anything.

You watched as he stopped, looking back up to you confused, "What are you doing?"

"Ba'al I can't—" You spoke, he put a finger to his mask. With a sigh you whispered, "I can't see the ground, Berituk!"

The demon couldn't help but snicker at how stupid you looked waving the boot that was 3 sizes to big trying to find the ground.

"C-Can't you make a portal-y thingy?" You groaned, managing to put your foot down one step.

Ba'al shook his head, "You need to know where you are. How to get to my quarters if we get seperated."

You huffed, reaching out for his hand, "Then at least help me down the stairs!" You hissed.

As much as Berituk would like to, it was suspicious, so he had to take a step back, "I can't," He spoke.

"Asshole!" You whispered, trying to make it down the next step.

Ba'al brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose and sighed, watching as you could barely make it down the stairs.

Suddenly, a hand was on the top of your helmet and you were being shoved through a bright red slipgate.

You flailed, trying to catch your footing. Groaning when you realized the bastard had only ported you to the bottom of the staircase.

" _ Trev! _ " A voice sounded from the other direction from the staircase.

Uh-Oh.

You angled your head over to the voice, seeing a Marauder clad in green (and rather revealing) gear making his way up to you.

Great, thanks Ba'al.

You took a step back, trying to move out of his way like instructed, but he still was walking right towards you.

" _ Sur ruk sereuk tnur _ ." He spoke, rather agitated. 

You were sweating as he made his way closer, hoping and praying Ba'al's dumbass would come down the stairs already. 

What was he doing? How long did it take him to climb down some stairs?

" _ Tu bayr'tik ixtur troki! _ " He snarled, oh shit was he mad? He looks mad—

You were trying your best not to turn to the stairwell and yell up for Ba'al, but as soon as you turned your head towards the stairwell, he appeared.

The Hell Commander quickly caught onto the scene at play, standing between you and the advancing Marauder.

" _ Surean avekran, kavis. _ " Ba'al spoke. 

The other demon looked surprised, quickly backing down to Berituk with a nod of his head. Ba'al began walking without another word, looking over his shoulder to glance at you as you scurried behind him.

Next thing you knew, you were in the main hallway with  _ lots _ more marauders and  _ lots _ more soldiers dressed like you.

As you walked behind one of hell's fiercest generals, the onlookers broke their necks watching you follow him around, making you become very nervous.

You tried to focus on the scuffed stone flooring, reading the unknown writings on the ground.

Before you could even realize what had happened, you were outside at the base of the arena.

You inhaled, suddenly a lot more nervous than before, but Ba'al made sure to throw you a warm look as you entered.

A loud warcry pierced your ears as you entered, seeing three men in the same armor as you take on a large demon in the center of the arena.

You cringed, there were bodies on the floor already, some still moving, too. They had their armor ripped off of them, rotten demonic flesh being revealed.

Ba'al led you up into the coliseum. The higher you went, the nicer the interior became. You knew this section was only for the marauders and higher respected individuals.

The War General pulled you into a side door, your eyes widening when you realized it was a watch box above the normal seating area.

"No one can see in here. We can only see out." He spoke.

Berituk reached to undo your helmet, you took a step back, still a little uneasy. He seemed hurt, but watched as you shuffled in place, "A-Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." He spoke, "Even if they could see in here, what're they gonna do when I'm here?"

His hands pulled off your helmet. Man, you were sure glad to get out of that musky ass bucket.

You relaxed for a moment, but it was suddenly interrupted by a cry as the large demon took a step back and crushed someone on the ground.

" _ N'ar hevaur ehor tnur… _ " Ba'al muttered.

"What?" You whispered over to him as he sat down on one of the over the top mini thrones in the booth. 

"I said I fucking hate it here." He snarled, "This used to be a place of honor,  _ grevux _ . Now it's been corrupted, the Deag uses it for bloodsport, putting our own kind against demons for amusement." 

"Why are we here, then?" You sat beside him on the throne, well, tried to— He was so big you were kind of sitting on his knee.

"Grav likes to call bullshit. He says some Marauders are traitors, going against the Khan, and he makes them fight the Gladiator." Ba'al paused.

"But that only happens on days that Grav is here, and…" Berituk pointed down below at the bigger watch box beneath you, "He's in there." 

Your muscles stiffened. Ba'al felt it, even through the armor. He wrapped his arm around you to reassure you, " _ Nevas tnur, va'teruk… _ I'm here, love."

With a nod, you calmed down, you knew he knew what he was doing. "What do you mean  _ 'going against the Khan' _ ?" You turned your head over to him.

" _ Tenar _ , they disobey her commands. Which is why we're here— I always help them knock down the Gladiator. I have to make sure they win, because if they die, I lose supporters for when I am king." 

Ah, that made sense, "Well, don't the bucket heads support the Khan?"

"Against their will, though. When I kill her, they'll be free." He spoke.

You nodded, his sentence not really registering in his head.

After a moment, you turned to him, confused, "After you  _ kill _ her?" 

He nodded, "You are prophesied to help kill her, you know that, Nephalem?"

"Wait— What?" You put your hands up, "Prophecy? What does Nephalem mean?"

Ba'al shrugged, "I heard your legend from the Deag, it's a tightly bound secret. I don't know why, but he wont tell me more." 

A million and one questions were bouncing around in your head, but your attention was grabbed when a loud chant sounded through the coliseum and the lights dimmed, except for one large spotlight on the center of the arena.

A demon even larger than the one already in there rammed through the doors, quickly disposing of the other demon before the gate across the arena opened.

Three marauders were shoved through. Ba'al sat forward, watching closely as they all spread around the beast and moved to attack its legs.

Within a few minutes, the first 2 Marauders were already taking a knee, and the last one was about to get pummeled. That's when Ba'al stood up and slipped you onto the throne by yourself.

" _ Duvak ver'en _ ." He took off his chains and wrapped them around your neck like a necklace, "Hold these."— Oh  _ man _ these were heavy.

He then yanked off his cape and draped it over your shoulders, the weight also making your shoulders slump forward.

Ba'al leant down to place a kiss on your forehead before a portal ripped up behind you. You moved to stop him from leaving but he'd already walked through.

A loud roar of applause sounded through the arena, your head snapped back to the battle to see Ba'al exit the endside of his portal.

You watched as the Gladiator snarled. Ba'al said he'd done this before, so he'd taken on that thing more than once?

The beast seemed to be angered by his presence, immediately losing interest in the other three marauders and heading straight for Ba'al with his shield held up.

Berituk darted out of the way as the beast's shield slammed into the wall. The whole entire arena shook, making the crowd roar with excitement.

You found yourself subconsciously gripping onto his cape and pulling it around yourself in suspense as Ba'al bought time for the other marauders.

He kept dodging the attacks the Gladiator threw out until the other three were on their feet. Ba'al's mask moved as he told them what to do.

Then, all of their shields were up, protecting them from the chop of the beast's hammer.

Your eyes travelled up the wall of the arena, looking at all the marauders and sentinels in white watching from the bleachers.

You wanted to see into the Deag's watch box, but at the same time you didn't want to. You were thankful it had tinted glass around it. 

The only thing you could see within was 2 large, horned silhouettes standing on either side of a small, sickly twig.

You knew that was the Deag, but you subconsciously looked back to the door to see if it was locked. Thankfully, it was locked up tight. 

Your attention snapped back to the ground as gunfire went off. They were all shooting at the beast, its shield unable to block all of the bullets at once.

It was uncanny to see all of the Marauders move in the same way. All of them trained in the same exact fighting style. You recognized some of their moves from your own ability to fight.

You watched as the three marauders began walking to the back of the Gladiator, making him turn around as Ba'al snuck up behind him.

He got low, grasping at something on one of his hip pouches, before he raised his arm and a blinding red light showered the room.

The crowd thundered, the gladiator turned to look at Ba'al but he'd already ran at the gladiator with the large red sword in his hand.

With one swift jab, the sword seared through the Gladiator's back and poked out through his stomach.

The beast gargled in pain as the crowd went wild. Your eye caught the displeased silhouettes in the Deag's watchbox, making you smirk.

As the beast fell, the ground rumbled and the walls shook again.

The gates in the arena rose, as the three marauders stood at attention and saluted Ba'al.

He nodded in return as the four of them all made their way into the gate, the bars quickly snapping shut afterwards.

Your shoulders relaxed, watching as the beast's shield aided it in healing back up. 

However that worked…

It was ushered back away into its side of the arena, and then people begun to shuffle their way out of the arena.

You watched as they all left, the minutes ticked by and as less and less people were in the arena, the more nervous you became.

Your fingers dug into the fur cape around your shoulders, waiting for Ba'al to come back.

He wouldn't leave you here? 

…Would he? 

Your breathing became labored, you looked to the Deag's watchbox to see the silhouettes gone. You couldn't rip your eyes away from it though, in fear that he was staring right back up at you.

The bleachers were empty. 

The Arena was silent. 

Ba'al wasnt here. 

But you were.

You were alone, wearing his giant fur cape and his chains around your small figure. The once loud and bustling coliseum silent. Stagnant. The smell of corpses hung in the air.

It smelt familiar. Hell, even this place looked familiar. All of this was too damn familiar! You couldn't fucking stand this shit.

It was right on the tip of your tongue yet you couldn't spit it out!

You clamored to get your helmet and shove it on, moving to pry at the locked door.

A plan. You needed a plan.

You'd sure as hell stick out like a sore thumb with Berituk's fancy chains and coat on you. So you moved to carry them as a servant would.

The bastard's gotta have servants, right?

You opened the door, stiffer than a board as you walked through the arena's halls.

Maybe he'd be back at his room. That's where you'll go. He had to just assume you'd be able to get there on your own, right?

You were being thrown odd looks here and there, but nobody seemed to move to bother you.

The helmet was slipping over your eyes and you're pretty sure your shin guard had slipped and was now dangling around your ankle but you refused to stop and adjust it in fear you'd stand still for too long.

You shuffled up to the main doors of the building Ba'al had brought you from.

The two Sentinels at the door nodded their head at you, you did in return, making your helmet slip.

Quickly, you readjusted it, making them both look at one another oddly, but you were already quickly power walking away.

You tried to remember what hallway had the stairway, swallowing your pride and just choosing a direction to go in.

Thankfully, it seemed like you were heading in the right direction, as you spotted your dreaded enemy, the staircase.

Oh lord, you have to do this without Ba'al's help. Shit.

You inhaled, and exhaled. Going up stairs has never been this much of a task, well— Besides when you first were in Flynn's fortress and had an injured side. You whined to Vega all the time about the stairs.

Your mood worsened when you thought about those two… You hope they were okay.

With a gulp you stepped up the first stair. Thankfully, going up them wasn't as bad as going down them, as you could see what was happening at your feet.

As you reached the top a marauder rounded the corner at the same time as you, your forehead knocking clean into his elbow.

The marauder snarled as you felt your butt hit the ground, he moved to look down and chew you out, but he stopped in his tracks.

You looked back up to him, helmet knocked off your face and besides you on the ground.

His eyes met yours, the two of you blinked at eachother for a moment before you started to move.

In a panic, you scrambled to pick up Berituk's gear and your helmet, darting in-between the armored demon's legs and around the corner from where he came.

As the stunned demon came to realize what he'd just saw— A human girl— He whipped around in the direction you ran, but you were already far gone.

You made it to Ba'al's door, slamming your shoulder on the heavy door as you pushed it open, falling onto his living room floor.

You stood back up to lock the door, breathing heavily as you looked around the room. Ba'al wasn't here?

Is he okay?

You begun to worry more, moving to check the other rooms in his quarters.

Maybe he'll be here in a little while? 

You moved to rip off your armor, crawling up onto the couch. 

You sat alone in the silence, waiting to hear the familiar zap of a portal or click of a lock.

You started to cry out of fear. You hadn't even realized you were crying until a tear rolled down your neck. 

You don't know how long you sat there, but it was long enough for you to fall asleep, all wrapped up in his large fur cape.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argenta:
> 
> "Hey!"
> 
> "You're not supposed to be here"
> 
> "You need to leave"
> 
> "It's all fine, soldier."


	34. 34 | VEXATIOUS : V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba'al is in a bit of a situation... Flynn realizes some stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this back before christmas even oops
> 
> also my askbox on tumblr is open for oneshots , headcanons , imagines , and drawing requests !! link below <3

my [askbox](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640128338036457472/askbox-open) is open !

[flynn in a bunny onsie ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638232054554853376/fuck-it-flynn-has-a-cute-bunny-hoodie-now-as-a) and [ ba'al doot ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638232122556088320/i-know-it-aint-october-anymore-but-spooky-doot) and [ flynn as a pokemon gym leader ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638265681125703680/a-mf-has-been-playing-too-much-pok%C3%A9mon-i-am-mf) and [ churro and flynn ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638761920972963840/churro-is-taking-a-nap-flynn-still-doesnt-know) by thatidiotagain

[ flynn and reader w the xmas tree ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638412119128326144) by master-cornflake

[ human vega ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/638763905945108480/finally-after-an-hour-vega-my) by that-gay-asian

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Berituk stepped out of the ring, looking at his injured comrades. He was weakened by the Gladiator himself, but he wasn't going to let that stop that from fighting for what was right.

Sentinels in white walked up to them, spears pointed at the hell commander. His brow raised, but he quickly knew what was up as the Deag and the top 2 traitor Marauders approached his side.

"This is the _last_ time I will have you stand in my way!" Grav snarled.

Ba'al scoffed, "And what do you plan on doing here? You saw how I took down that Gladiator, you think you and five guards stand a chance?" 

The Priest smirked, motioning to the two Maykr Angel guards standing at attention at the arena door.

Ba'al's smirk faltered. The Khan had ordered her Angels to look after Grav, meaning they had to do anything the Deag ordered them to.

"You wouldn't." Ba'al spoke, "You're too cowardly. I know where the Slayer is, I can go and personally tell him your location, just to make it easier for him."

The Marauders looked a bit frightened, the Sentinels seemed to hold their spears a bit shakier. 

Grav's face twisted into a grimace, " _Da'rui Maykr._ "

The two guards floated over, their eyeless faces scanning over Ba'al, "Yes, Deag Grav?" one spoke, its voice heavily distorted.

"Detain him." 

The two Angels looked down at the demon, as he snarled in response. He couldn't do anything, the demon knew he couldn't hurt a Maykr or his sovereignty would be terminated.

The Sentinels stepped back, allowing for the Angels to tap their spears against Ba'al's wrists, glowing shackles appearing.

"Didn't put up a fight this time, hm?" Grav spoke.

Berituk couldn't fight now. He was weak, injured.

But he wouldn't admit that, glaring over to the Deag as the old bastard spoke, " _Sy reuk_ Taras Nabad."

The other Marauders eyed one another, knowing damn well what was to come.

Berituk felt his feet slip as the angels looped their hands under his arms, moving to haul him through the opening portal.

Grav smirked as he saw Ba'al's brows furrow behind his mask. If the demon wasn't contained at the moment he would just do The Slayer's job for him and pop the Deag's head off like a bottle cap.

The environment changed drastically. Berituk felt the cold on his skin as he stepped through the portal.

The large machine in front of him made his skin crawl. He tried to plant his heels on the ground but it was no use, the Maykrs at his sides just kept tugging; he was dragged down the hallway as if he was as light as a feather. The Deag seemed to enjoy the sight of him struggling so.

The Deag shambled to the side to activate the contraption. It was nothing like it used to be, the machine sputtered as the holding compartment rose into the air, but Ba'al knew damn well it'd still hurt like it was his first run in the thing.

Ba'al was shoved into the container like it was nothing, despite him fighting it. Every time he threw a punch or kick at the angels, his handcuffs would surge and shock his body, constricting his muscles with every blow.

He couldn't afford another time in the Divinity machine. Each time he went in he felt like he lost a piece of himself.

Each time Ba'al came out blinded by anger, vision hazy and mind fogged. He'd have to snap himself out of it each time before he lashed out.

"Is he down?" Grav questioned.

"Yes, Deag Grav." An Angel spoke as they both backed away from the writhing demon. He was held in place by the cuffs around his arms, the Maykr energy stronger than he was.

If only he hadn't wasted so much of his fucking energy on the Gladiator.

Ba'al barely fit on the machine anymore, his large bulk, paired with his armor and horns made it a tight squeeze. 

"It's unfortunate it's come to this—" Grav begun.

"You have no idea what you're doing." Ba'al spoke, "You were told this Machine purifies me, but what you don't know is that it does the opposite. It gives me the strength I require to strike down your measly rule amongst my people." 

"Are you forgetting I am an Argenti, just as you?" The Priest spoke.

"You're no Argenti." Ba'al snarled, "You kill for sport in our own holy city.—"

"I do it for justice!—" Grav cut him off, moving to defend himself in front of the Maykrs present.

"You put Sentinels against Sentinels. Blood against blood. Brothers against brothers." Berituk snarled, "And for what? For sport? To giggle as you rot away under the Khan's _'protection'_? What if she found out about your abuse?"

Grav snarled, banging his cane against the ground, " _You're a traitor!_ " He spoke, "You interfered with the execution once again, and now you speak ill of the Khan Maykr!" The Deag looked down to the button underneath his palm, "You need to be… _Re-tuned_."

"Is that what your sick mind thinks of my people? Instruments in which you can play and just re-tune if one acts out?" Ba'al rumbled. 

The Deag took a step back out of fright, "You're out of line! Messing with the destiny of the humans is obscene! You fight a battle much larger than you now." Grav spoke, "I know what you did— You halted my invasion! First this was going to be about that but now… Now it's about so much more!"

"You think I am weak like you?!" Berituk yelled, yanking on his shackles and lunging forward at the twig of a man.

The Deag stumbled backwards, frightened, motioning to the button, "Qu-Quickly now! Before he escapes!"

One of the Maykrs moved to press the button. 

"Oh? What would happen if I escaped? You know I'd be able to take down you _and_ your army!"

Grav huffed, watching as the machine began to work , "I am amplifying the invasion. Starting with the Gore Nest." 

Ba'al let out a defeated grunt, feeling himself being tipped back in the capsule. He wanted to lash out and tear the man's throat out.

He took a breath in, watching as the top closed in on him, knowing what was to come as the capsule sealed shut.

Ba'al closed his eyes, just like how he always did when he was submitted to the machine.

 _'Coward_.' He thought to himself. But then his mind wandered... To you.

Guilt flooded over him, but he couldn't think too hard before red clouded his vision. Pain tore through every fiber of his being, and before long, there was so much pain there was nothing. 

Numbness.

The Deag watched as a flash of red light happened within the machine; banging could be heard from inside, along with the pained and distorted screams of the demon within.

Another portal opened up, the two marauders from before stepped in, along with a new, rather frightened looking one.

The three all immediately grimaced at the working machine, trying to ignore the noises of pure agony.

"Sorry to interrupt… _This_ , my lord." One of them spoke, glancing over to the machine, "Well, tell him what you told us." He motioned to the new marauder.

He spoke up, "I… I saw a human, I think it was. Definitely not an Argentian, way too small. It was a female, up in the Marauder quarters." 

The Deag's brows knit together, "A… Human? _Here_?"

"Yes, my lord, _here_." The Marauder spoke, "Wearing Sentinel armor, too."

Grav looked over to the Divinity Machine, recalling Berituk being followed around by that little Sentinel.

Grav blinked out of his thoughts. The yelling had stopped a moment ago, Ba'al had probably passed out by now, motioning for the Angels to turn it off.

Surely it was nothing, right? 

Just some Sentinel he had decided to boss around for the day.

"How tall?" Grav questioned.

The Marauder thought for a moment, holding his hand just on his hip.

Grav snarled, that the same height as the Sentinel Ba'al was with…

"How do you know it was a human?"

"I saw her face, my lord. She wasn't like the others. She was _alive_ , not a zombie." The demon recalled.

"And her face?" Grav inquired, pressing him on.

"[S/c] skin, [e/c] eyes… [H/c] hair, and [f/f]." 

Grav seemed to stumble, his mouth running dry, knowing damn well Ba'al was up to more than he thought.

But would the brute be so brave as to work with…?

No. He wouldn't… Not with the Nephalem.

Grav looked over his shoulder, watching as the Machine lowered Ba'al's limp body.

Would he?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"You are in critical condition, and have been for the past day. I am creating an emergency extraction point. If you do not go into it, you are going to die."

Flynn winced in-between rough heaves. His chest hurt, his arms hurt, his legs hurt, his fucking _everything_ hurt, "I'm… Fine, Vega."

"You are not." The AI barked, one of the only times he'd ever get mad is when Taggart was acting like a stubborn baby. "You've been out for three days. It's time for you to come home. Rest." 

Flynn felt the wall shake behind him as the demons on the other side fought. Earth was in complete shambles; the demonic presence halted for a few days… But now it's back and bigger than ever. 

He couldn't take on the mass amounts of demons that showed up. Not like this.

Vega was right, but he wouldn't give up.

He checked every last ARC base in existence… Yet, none of them had you in it.

The portal ripped open besides the disheveled man. Slowly, he stood from his safe spot and limped through. Vega closed the slipgate promptly behind him.

"I will power on the armory and med bay. Please remove your suit so I may repair it and come to the medical stations." 

Flynn didn't even have the energy to tell Vega he was fine, instead just shucking off his helmet and armor. His chin had grown stubble, eyes drooped tiredly, eyebrows permanently arched downwards.

"Thank you. After I adhere to the big wounds I suggest you shower and sleep. You still are human, after all."

"I don't want to go in m' room." He spoke bluntly.

The last time he tried to go in there he just stopped and stared at the metal door with a gash torn carelessly down the middle. It made his skin crawl.

"You have to sleep, Flynn." Vega spoke rather harshly, his rebuilt core in the ceiling of the hub surged as he moved to power the medical bay.

Flynn followed his AI companion, sitting in the medical pod for the 5th time in the past 2 weeks.

After his wounds were stitched, he went to shower. Layers of thick grime, sweat, ash, and blood rolled off of his skin as he just stood under the water, staring blankly at the stone wall.

Flynn stepped out of the shower, drying his hair. He caught himself hesitating when he stepped out into the cold and rather dark hallway, glancing over to his room.

The man stomped into the room, quickly moving to put on some clothes. He found himself glancing over his shoulder at the bed, expecting you to sit up and tell him off for being too loud so early in the morning.

He sighed, walking over to the _very_ empty bed, staring down at the unused covers. Slowly, Flynn layed down, wincing as he realized how hurt he truly was. The gashes on his arms and legs, and the aching in his muscles proved it.

Flynn frowned to himself under the covers, screwing his eyes shut the best he could, back facing the door and the rest of the room.

He wished he could just wake up, and it'd all be a nightmare too horrifically realistic.

As if on cue, a voice spoke beside him in bed, "Flynn. Wake up."

He furrowed his brows. Wait no, that was… _Your_ voice.

Flynn quickly sat up. He wasn't in his room anymore, instead back in the cottage home you two had stayed in during your first mission. But, something seemed… Off.

The wall with the window on it seemed about 3 feet too far away from the bed, and there was no window anymore.

He scanned the room, breathing heavily as he tried to figure out what was happening, when a hand was wrapped around his arm. Flynn looked over his shoulder to see you clad in your pyjamas sitting in bed next to him, a tired yet worried expression on your face.

"[Y/n]," The marine's large hands were quick to grab at your small form and pull you into his embrace.

You quickly returned it, moving to run your fingers through his hair soothingly, "Shh, Flynn, I'm here. What happened?"

Flynn looked up to your face, tears in his eyes, "What d'ya mean what happened?"

"I think you had a nightmare?" You spoke, tiredly moving to curl around his arm and rest your head on his pec.

"W-Wait, Butts—" Flynn held you, shaking your shoulder lightly so you wouldn't fall back asleep, "Why are we… Here? Where's the fortress?"

You shrugged, "I dunno, you were the one that wanted to come here."

Flynn's brows furrowed, "Wh-When did you get back? What happened with the Marauder— And Hayden? What's goin' on?" 

You blinked up to his worried face, making him even more confused at your lack of response.

His face fell. "This a dream, ain't it?"

You nodded.

Flynn sighed, laying back against the imaginary pillow, feeling you— Or his mind's version of you— Curl around his arm again.

Well, might as well get some cuddling while it's good. Flynn rolled over and wrapped his arms around you, muttering into the top of your head, "Where are you…?"

He felt you shrug, "I don't know."

"Are you… Are you safe?" He questioned, although he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. This was a dream, afterall.

"Do you want me to be safe?" You looked up to him, moving to run your fingers along the scars on his collarbones.

" 'Course I do." 

Your trailing fingers came to a stop, locking eyes with the Doom Slayer, "Why?"

Flynn seemed to be taken aback by your questioning, "What d'ya mean _'why'_?"

"If you know this is a dream, why are you so happy to hug me and to hold me? If none of this is real why are you questioning me like I'm capable of answering?" You blankly stated.

Flynn could no longer really read the expression on your face, "Eh—" 

"Why do you risk your life to save me, Flynn?" You moved to wrap your arms around his neck, a strange calm silkiness laced your words as you questioned him so hard.

The man's mind blanked. He had a surprised look plastered on his face, brows knitting a sweater they were so furrowed.

He's never really… Thought of the reason why. He just knows… That he wants to— No, he _has_ to keep you safe.

"But why? Why do you have to? Who is holding you accountable?" You inquired.

Oh, he forgot this was a dream, you can hear his thoughts. Great.

Flynn swallowed, finally looking down to your face, "Because… You… Yer you."

"But what about _me_ makes a man like you risk every fiber of his being and every ounce of his strength?" You persisted.

"I dunno, it's just—" He began

"You _do_ know. We _both_ know." You cut him off, "Why won't you say it, Flynn?" 

"I… It's just— You…" He swallowed hard, as began to spill everything, "You're so kind. You took in that poor pea-brained bird, even if it was another responsibility."

"Y-You care 'bout me, patch me up when 'm bruised." Flynn looked down to you, then found himself unable to continue due to the rising heat on his face.

"You— Yer so talented, I've seen what you can do when you fixed my gun on the fly during a mission. It was broken in half an' you took that thing and just… Shoved it back together. Your suit, too, and Vega's body. I-I mean it takes years to learn that stuff, y'know?"

"A-And yer personality. You laugh with me, and you _get_ me. I've never really had someone get me like you do before, even during all my years on Earth—" He kept stumbling on his words as your blank stare bore into him.

"You jus' fascinate me. I mean— Where you come from, who you are. I'm just as intrigued as you are. I… I wish th' best for you. And I'm willing ta help you 100% of the way through. I'll— I'll be here for ya no matter what." He concluded.

"And?" You spoke beneath him.

He looked down at you, his hands fidgeting and his cheeks a bright red, "A-And?" He repeated.

"You know what." You smiled sweetly up to him, cupping his face in your tiny hand.

"And I… I think…"

He swallowed hard.

"I jus'... I think I… I think I love ya?" 

He refused to look down at you in fear of seeing you laughing at him or looking at him appalled, but instead he felt you lean up and place a kiss against his cheek.

Flynn looked down at you, surprised.

You smiled, "You fight for me because why?" You edged him on, urging for him to repeat himself.

"Because I love you." He spoke, more confidently this time.

"Because you love me." You smiled, trying the sentence out for yourself, "Flynn William Joseph Taggart loves me, [Y/n] [M/n] [L/n]."

"D-Do you… Love me ba—?" He was cut off with you pressing a finger to his lips.

"I can't answer that." 

"Wh-Why not?" Flynn seemed hurt.

"I'm only your dream, silly." You moved to brush some hair out of his face, "You have to find me when you wake up, to find that out." 

"But—" The marine clung to you, "I'm _trying_."

"I know you are." You pressed another kiss to his cheek, "Don't give up on me."

"But I looked _everywhere_." He pleaded.

You silenced him with a kiss to the corner of the mouth, "You'll find me. I know you will, Taggart. And when you do…" You looked up to him, "You'll be able to tell real me what you told me." 

Flynn's muscles tensed, "Wait, I can't do that—" He looked down to you, but you were no longer there.

He panicked for a moment, rolling over to hit his head on the fortress wall. Flynn grunted in pain and sat up, now back in his room with the destroyed door.

His mouth was dry, remembering what you had said, " _Flynn William Joseph Taggart loves me, [Y/n] [M/n] [L/n]._ "

His face turned red, when the hell did he— No, he can't _love_ you, can he?

His mind wandered back to the way you kissed him to shut him up, butterflies immediately swarmed within his stomach.

" _Fuck—_ " Flynn buried his face in his hands, this can't be happening…

"Well, good morning to you, too." Vega spoke.

Flynn didn't move, just let out an embarrassed grunt.

"There's food upstairs. Please eat."

It took the man a second, but he stood, moving to go up the stairs with wobbly knees and a fluttering in his gut.

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	35. 35 | REUNITION : I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You see Ba'al again.

[ ba'al playing with readers hair ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/639482301349298176/just-playin-yn-hair-omfg-your-art) by mieramsteinner

[ flynn ! ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/639482207954731008/heres-flynn-h-i-m) by that-gay-asian

[ i love this so much ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640317909930000384) by bugfayce

[flynn and daisy](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640753683948355584/for-that-drawing-request-thing-doomguy-just) and [ba'al "hellbeast" berituk](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640578919326679040/when-you-finally-get-around-to-drawing-this-fucker) by me

oh hey i have an [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/1_800_SAT_ANIC/)

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You were so tired from not sleeping for the past few days. Your working hands became slower and slower as you sat on the livingroom floor in Ba'al's quarters.

Were you really going to go through with this? You heard what Ba'al said, you have a bounty enforced by the Khan herself!

But… 

It's been 2 days. 

He hasn't come back, at this point you don't know if he even _is_ coming back; you know something is wrong. You don't know where he is, but you know that whatever was happening was bad. 

This may be your only option at this point.

You shoved the gun you were busy repairing to the side, huffing and wiping the tears from your face.

You were getting frustrated, and that frustration paired up with the tiredness and the fact you were fearing for your own life wasn't doing well for you.

You were trying to conjure up a plan; it's up to you to try and get out of here, and… Hopefully save Ba'al. 

You were so worried about that dumbass. But on top of that, you were worried for Flynn and Vega. Fuck, you were even worried about Samuel!

But, if you were going to even try and _attempt_ to fight anything or anyone, you'd need protection; you saw those other marauders, they'd have your tiny ass on the floor in seconds.

You rolled over on your side, slamming the engineering notebook you found closed. 

The book was yours, but, the writing was in Argenta, and there was no way you could understand that.

Thankfully, you knew how to decipher your own bullshit diagram of a gun, but fixing up the one you found on Ba'al's wall was harder than you thought it'd be.

You needed to finally get some rest, you'd have to take a break. You leant back on the foot of the couch, closing your eyes and sighing.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You couldn't have been asleep for even an hour. You were startled awake as the door shook. 

Someone was kicking it in.

"Fuck!" You cursed, reaching to the gun at your side as the door to Ba'al's living room fell right off the hinges and thumped onto the floor.

You made eye contact with two marauders, both who seemed stunned to see you just as you were them.

The three of you had a staring contest, before one spoke up, " _Sur ver'en duv y'tr k'tarr du Deag. Du'uk xar keov'nd yduk Ba'al-Berituk dorek_." 

You squinted, your gun shaking in your hand. You don't even know if it'd work but you aren't going to let your guard down, "I don't speak Argenta."

They looked to one another, then one spoke, "We were ordered to search Ba'al-Berituk's quarters for evidence, but you're all we need. You have a bounty enforced by the Deag, so you are commanded to comply."

"And if I don't?" You questioned.

"Then you will be forced to." The other spoke as the two stepped forward.

You tried scooting back, but you were already pressed against the furthest wall. As they closed in, your finger fumbled on the trigger. 

They were getting close, you had no other choice.

You held your breath, clicking the trigger.

The gun powered up, it began to overheat in your hand and just as it was about the release the plasma bullet;

_Pop!_

The bullet didn't fire, instead just fizzled away.

"Shit!" You cried, panicking as the marauders laughed. They suddenly swooped in and tore the gun from your hold.

There was a boot on the back of your shoulder in an instant, and your chest was pressed to the floor. Your arms were wrangled behind you as their huge hands came to detain you.

"It's so small? Are you sure this is the Nephalem?" One spoke as they lifted you onto your feet, "I can't walk and hold their arms behind them at the same time, it's too low."

They began to usher you out the door, you tried your best to grind your heel into the floor but they picked you right back up like you were a light as a feather.

You leaned over and bit one's arm, making him hiss in pain and recoil.

You almost slipped underneath their legs till a large armored hand grabbed a wad of your hair, "Damn it! Feisty one, ain't it?"

Then, you were lugged over the other's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, his armor pinching you uncomfortably.

As they walked you through the halls, they had heads twisting in their direction. Marauders and Sentinels alike gawked at the sight of them carrying you. You could tell the two bastards were triumphantly beaming based on the way they walked.

Well, if you couldn't escape, might as well try and figure out what's going on.

"Where are you taking me?" You spoke.

"To the Deag and Ba'al." They answered.

Your blood ran cold, "T-To the hell priest?"

"What's wrong?" The other marauder moved to kneel down to be at your eye level. Since you were hung over the other's shoulder, your vision was upside-down, but you could still tell he was as horribly demonized as Ba'al was, "You scared? I thought you were some fabled force, an all powerful being. But we didn't even have to draw our weapons."

You snarled, moving to punch the demon in the face. It was a poor move now that you think about it, he had a mask, and horns protecting his bony face. But, you managed to pop him between the eyes with your small fist.

He didn't even grunt in pain or flinch.

You felt… Helpless.

Suddenly, the scenery got dark as you heard the rumble of a door opening. You passed through a guarded gate, the two Night Sentinels craned their head to watch you be carried through.

It looked like you were in a prison, bars with cells lined the walls, some occupied, others empty. Before you could look closer, you were thrown on a cold concrete floor. Thank god for your ARC suit or your knees and hands would have been chewed up.

" _N sev'r, nevuk Deag Ranak_."

You rolled off of your back to stand, gasping at the sight of two faceless figures holding spears pointed at Ba'al.

His arms were chained to the wall, his head hung low. His armor was torn from his battered and bruised body, his eyes seemed to have a hazy red glow illuminating over them. His Argent implant was busted open and leaking onto the floor beneath him, mixing in with a puddle of his own coagulated blood.

"He is out. You two are no longer needed here, we will take the Nephalem and contact the Priest." One of the faceless figures spoke, it had a slit down it's oddly shaped face like Samuel did.

Were these… Maykrs?

The two marauders huffed, "Alright, but you make sure to tell him it was us who found it." 

The Maykrs scoffed, moving to raise the bars on Ba'al's cell. He had the strength to raise his head a little bit, only catching a glimpse of you before the two Angels yanked you upwards.

They stuck you in the cell across from Ba'al, clipping your small wrists in the shackles on the wall.

"We will be back with the Deag." One spoke.

You watched as they left, then looked up to Berituk's figure on the wall, "Ba'al!" You whispered.

He gave no response.

With a huff, you looked to the shackles on your wrists, scoffing when you realized you could literally just slip your hand through them.

Perks of being human sized when everything was big for Marauders, huh?

You yanked your hands free, moving to peek at the door. Precariously, you glanced down the hall to see the angels and the marauders gone. Then you turned your attention to the bars, you could slip through them if you sucked in your gut.

With some struggle, you managed to escape your cell, moving to try and slip into Ba'al's.

"Ba'al!" You called again.

He barely even responded as you knelt besides him. You brought your hand up slowly to cup his face, turning him to try and look at you.

"Ba'al?" You whispered, tears pricking your eyes, "Answer me, please?"

"M...My h-hands…" He spoke, his voice deeper and scratchier than normal, almost as if he had his mask on still.

You looked up to his shackled wrists, his cuffs were old and rusted, almost about to break. You then bent down to grasp your boot knife, flipping it around and using the handle to smash the links in the chain.

His first hand fell to the floor limp, he slumped to the side without the support, making you worry about how weak he was. When you moved to do his other hand, the chain took longer to bust, but when it did, Ba'al lunged atop you.

It took all of his strength to embrace you, the momentum of the lunge made you topple over with him on top of you. 

Happily, you hugged him back, feeling his teeth press against your neck as he buried his face into you.

His horn bonked you on the head as he moved to look at you. His eye sockets were fogged in red, an abnormal haze was over them. 

You moved to speak on it, but he cut you off, "You shouldn't be here."

Oh, that was a change of tone, "Wh-What?"

"They'll hurt you. You need t-to go—" Ba'al tried to stand, but he doubled over in pain. You quickly moved to help him, grasping his arms that were covered in lacerations and gashes.

"What happened?" You asked.

"After I fought the Gladiator, my implant broke. I couldn't heal," You both looked down to the leaking mechanical conduit, "The Deag took advantage of my weakened state and brought me to the Machine where he weakened me further. Then a marauder reported that he saw you…" Berituk looked pained.

"They told me they were going to search every last inch of my quarters. I'd hoped you weren't there but I knew you were." He sighed, "This is my fault. I never meant to harm you."

You cupped his face, "There was no way you could have known."

Ba'al shook his head, "You need to go." He seethed, "When they put me in the divinity machine I become like the others. Blinded by rage and hate. The Deag can control me when I'm like this; I could hurt you."

"No," You spoke, "I'm not leaving without you."

"You _have_ to." He spoke, bringing you close to him.

There was a lump in your throat, you felt the tears start back up.

"Do not cry, my _va'teruk_." 

You shook your head, "I'm not fucking leaving you." 

He smiled sweetly, the large demon slowly leant down, deciding to test the boundaries once again.

Carefully, he grasped your chin and angled you to look up to him. He held your face gingerly as he slowly leant in and gently pressed a kiss on your lips.

Ba'al hesitantly dipped you back as your eyes widened, kissing you with the most passion you'd ever received. There was no way you'd be able to match the fire he was dishing out, but you tried nonetheless to go at his pace.

Slowly, you moved to wrap yourself around him better and angle yourself more to kiss him back. His grip tightened around you as you did, the two of you held one another in a passionate embrace.

His hands held you steady as he tried to absorb every last bit of the interaction. He seemed to shake, he was weak, tired, but he was determined to comfort you. 

It was an interesting sensation, your lips against his demonic teeth. He'd occasionally slip up and his teeth would bite down on one of your lips and he'd give you a good nip, but it didn't really hurt.

His bony hand raked through your hair, and he yanked you closer to himself, before finally, you had to slowly pull away for air.

He smugly looked down at your rosy red cheeks, wiping a tear away from your eye. Berituk leant to press his forehead carefully against yours, making sure to be careful of his massive horns.

"I will be fine. He can't kill me." Ba'al spoke.

"You're not fine, look what he's done!" You pleaded, "Come with me."

"I cannot." Ba'al shook his head, "If I leave he'll come after me, if you leave, he won't know how to find you. You're safer away from me. Besides, The Gladiator gave me these injuries. The Deag is not what you think he is."

There was the sound of conversation, and footsteps nearing the cell.

" _Berituk!_ " You cried, trying to get him to stand on his wobbly knees.

He wrapped his big arms around you, humming into your neck. You curled around him, too, tears dripping down your face and onto his skin.

The conversation stopped, and so did the footsteps, you pulled away from the demon to look at the spindly man before you.

His skin was faded a disgusting purple, it hung to his bones like a wet paper towel. He looked like he was melting or rotting standing upright. He was a spindly twig, but he looked just as scared to see you as you were him.

You took the knife off of the ground and pointed it to the man, Ba'al used what little of his strength was there to shove you between his back and the wall, trying to provide a layer of protection for you.

The man looked to the two Angels at his side, "It seems she's lost her power…" He spoke, his voice even worse than Ba'al's, "Bring her to me."

The Angels opened the cell, Ba'al pressed you into the wall further as he snapped at the Maykrs like some dog. 

He moved to stand, barely getting anywhere before one of them brought their spear down and tapped it against his implant.

It shocked him, Berituk fell to the ground with a thump as his chest spasmed. You moved to try and help him, but a spear was pressed into your neck.

"Get up." The Maykr spoke.

You eyed up to its blank face, staring at the sharp teeth it had.

Slowly, you stood. It's hands came to wrangle your arms behind you, and you felt the cold touch of handcuffs on your wrists.

He guided you outside of the cell and made you kneel before the Deag.

The man was trying to keep a smug attitude despite shaking in his boots, looking down at you slyly. 

"You are the almighty Nephalem and yet you cannot even take on one Marauder?" Grav spoke, smirking.

You glared up at him, "I don't even know what that means." 

He seemed surprised that you would speak, "You're more talkative than your teammate, hm?" Grav sneered.

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" You rose a brow at him.

"Oh don't act like you don't know. Why else would you be here, if not to aid the Slayer and take my armies on from within?" 

"I told you I brought her here, asshole."

You looked over to the hell commander on the floor, he had the other Maykr's spear pressed against his temple as he watched you and Grav.

Grav snarled, "On the Slayer's behalf—"

"No." Ba'al cut him off.

"Ba'al doesn't… Like The Slayer." You backed him up, looking back to Grav's surprised face, "They've fought so many times before." 

Grav squinted, "A-And you? Who do you work for?"

"No one." You spoke.

The priest looked you over, a shocked yet terrified expression on his face. Meekly, he bent down to touch you. You recoiled in disgust as his wrinkly hand grabbed the fabric around your neck.

"This is a human symbol." He croaked, " _ARC General_ ; _Weapons Commander [L/n]._ " Grav looked down at you, "You have power over the humans…"

You yanked your shoulder away from him, the spearhead jabbed into your neck again.

Grav stood up, smirking victoriously, knowing he was right, "That doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Your troops stationed at our Gore Nests have no idea how to make the first move. And when they do, they'll fall regardless. Our hordes will consume them and we will remain victorious. You humans have only survived thus far from holding up behind your walls, and as soon as those walls break, you will, too."

Ba'al snarled from the ground, "Don't fucking talk to her like that!"

Grav looked over to Ba'al, you did too, seeing the red fog from his eyes and mouth even darker than before.

"The hell energy is amplified with anger, make sure he's contained before—" Grav tried, it was too late, though.

Ba'al had stood, grabbing the Angel's spear and bending it in a perfect 90 degree angle. You gasped as he lunged for the angel behind you, knocking it over and quickly getting to his feet.

He stood tall, his eyes and mouth spewing the red fog, his head craned slowly to look over at you on the floor and the Deag next to you.

"Th-The divinity machine's energy has already taken over, qu-quickly—!" Grav spoke, but was cut off by Ba'al charging forward like some bull.

He shoulder checked Grav, even though it was a small touch it completely devastated the twig of a man. The other Angel moved to help him up as Berituk turned to you.

Meekly, you scoot back. He looked terrifying, somehow seemingly bigger than before, blood dripping from his limbs, red smoke coming from his face.

In one motion he scooped you up into his arms.

You squeaked, thinking he'd squeeze you to death or something, but what you weren't expecting was for him to dash down the hall.

He carried you and ran as if he wasn't injured just moments prior, yelling could be heard after the two of you as he darted around a corner.

Ba'al came to a halt and looked down to your worried face, "I… I'm… S-Sorry—" He spoke, his voice heavy and pained.

"It's okay, stop apologizing." You shook your head, tears pricking your eyes once more.

He just moved his giant bony hand to your face. You flinched, and it made his heart throb to think you were scared of him. He lightly cupped your face again, running his thumb over your lips.

Berituk leant down and took another kiss from you, much shorter than the last one because the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hall, Grav had called his other Marauders.

The familiar noise of a portal ripping open broke the silence as you pulled away. The two marauders turned the corner as you felt Ba'al move to throw you.

You flailed, trying to grab ahold of him to take you with him, you couldn't just leave him like this! 

It didn't matter, though, his strength from the hell energy paired with your size difference meant you couldn't do anything.

You felt Ba'al's hand slip off of you as he tossed you through the escape portal, the last thing you saw before it shut was him turning to rip apart the other 2 marauders, the Maykrs close behind.

Your ass hit the cold ground of a lab. All foot traffic in the hallway stopped, looking over to you.

You moved to sit up, looking down as the yellow cuffs on your wrists disappeared. The many ARC scientists looked over at your bloodied self, one moving to their desk to send Hayden a message, "She's back." is all that they spoke into the comm.

It felt like hell to even try to stand, your muscles ached and your head was spinning. But, you didn't have to worry about trying to walk on your own, because 2 robotic arms were then wrapped around you from behind as they helped you to stand.

You didn't even think twice, spinning around to grab Sam's neck and hold onto him for dear life.

The cyborg seemed surprised, but held you close anyways.

You both let out a sigh of relief, you were safe.

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	36. 36 | REUNITION : II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simp the robot now or perish

[ reader's arc armor ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640054035163070464/yaaaaay-heres-the-finalized-design) by me

[ drawing comp 1 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640433312733724672/sketches-jokes-and-some-very-belated-christmas) and  [ drawing comp 2 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640433362370265088/and-the-other-half-of-stuff-underneath-the) and  [ drawing comp 3 ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/640801689081888768/sybrus-more-memes-this-time-and-a-what-if-and) by spacegoat

[ ba'al ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/642424132778278912/look-at-him-right-now) by thelongertheiconofsin

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"Mmh—" You swat Samuel's hand away from you, he was trying to feed you like some mother taking care of a toddler, poking food into your mouth like you weren't capable of doing so yourself.

The medical scanner was busy going over your shirtless body, examining the bruises on your ribs and adhering medical spray to your back and elbows.

"Hold still, it won't work if you don't." Sam bossed, holding a fork-full of food back up to your lips.

You turned your head to the side and swallowed the food already in your mouth, "S-Sam I said I was fine!"

"Oh,  _ sure _ you are." He scoffed, "You disappear for three days then show back up grimy and crying, and when I come to get you, you hold onto me like it's life or death."

You rolled your eyes, "Yeah but—"

" _ No _ buts. Sit still and let the scanner do its job." He pressed the fork prongs to your lips, which were still red and puffy from Ba'al's display of passion, "Eat the food. I can hear your stomach growling."

You glared up to the blue slit in his face and bit the food off the fork, wincing as the spray stung your wounds.

"So." Sam began as the medical tracker stopped and you moved to pull back on the ARC t-shirt Sam had provided you with, "What happened? Ba'al didn't try to  _ hurt you _ , did he?"

You looked up to him and shook your head no, sighing as you sat down on the medical table, "Well. The first day I was fine, so was Ba'al. He took me to Taras Nabad and showed me where I used to work as a mechanical engineer and doctor in the Sentinels."

"Hm," Sam hummed, looking down to a machine that was connected to the medical scanner, not really paying attention although he just asked.

"Then we went to this huge Arena where people are put up against huge monsters for breaking the law… And that's where shit went wrong." You hummed.

"Ba'al fought this Gladiator demon that broke his implant so he can't heal anymore. He was trying to save some of his squadron members from being falsely accused, I think. And then after he defeated it, the Hell Priest drug him off and left me in the crowd."

Samuel looked up to you, now fully listening, "A Hell Priest?"

You nodded your head, "I made it back to Ba'al's quarters and stayed there for a day. But, the priest took Ba'al and had these two faceless Maykr things put him into a machine. It beat the shit out of him, and then two Marauders came and busted down the door to his quarters and took me to The Priest." 

"You— You came into contact with him? And Maykrs?" Samuel urged, rather panicked.

"Yeah. He said he was planning something… Gathering up as many demons as he can to shove them out of the Gore Nest." 

Samuel nodded, "I am aware of that. While you were gone… The invasion tripled in size, starting with that site." He stood, "I was assuming the worst: That Ba'al had called off our deal now that he'd gotten his hands on you, and was amplifying the invasion."

"D-Deal?" You called.

Samuel nodded, "We made a deal. As long as he keeps his demons in hell, I'd keep my humans out of hell and let him see you."

You scowled, "Sam— You can't just… You know you don't own me, right? Or the human race?" 

"No." He spoke rather smugly, "But I'm in charge of what's left of it."

"What are you talking about?" You rose a brow.

"I will show you." He turned to you, offering a hand.

You scoffed and stood on your own, he chuckled at your feisty attitude as his hand hit his side. "We're going to Earth." Hayden concluded, walking to the door of the medical lab.

"Earth?" You limped over to him and grasped up at his hand. You think you probably bruised your ankle trying to ground yourself as the marauders drug you through the halls.

Samuel clasped ahold of your hand, making sure to take baby steps so you could walk at an even pace, "I must lead the ARC. Without me they are sitting ducks. I had stationed them near the gore nest to keep watch, they say it has doubled in size. When they tried to attack it the first time they were taken out quicker than imaginable." 

"This…  _ Extended _ trip to Phobos was not in my plans. I came up here to recalibrate the BFG and give a rundown of my plan using this base's advanced broadcasting system, but then you arrived." 

You hummed, "Have there been any…" You looked to your feet, "Slayer sightings?" 

"Not for the past 4 days, no."

You sighed. You wonder where he was… 

"What happened to Ba'al?" Samuel questioned.

"He's…" You gripped his hand harder, remembering the way he turned and began tearing apart the other marauders, "He's not himself."

"Care to elaborate?"

"He said the machine makes him  _ 'become like the others' _ and the Deag could… Control him." 

And then he kissed you, but you decided to leave that part out. You didn't really know how to feel about that, yet. You hadn't really any time to think about it. 

Samuel's hand tightened around yours, "So the Deag is in control of the demon, now?"

"Yes. But he saved me—" You rebutted, his hand loosened, "Berituk threw me into the portal back to you to make sure I was safe."

"Smart move." Samuel chuckled, "Seems like he couldn't keep you as secure as he thought."

You rolled your eyes, you both got into the elevator. You didn't know where he was leading you but you followed nonetheless. You kind of understood the duckling nickname now.

"You're coming to the ARC Headquarters with me, we need to take precaution and scout out the Gore Nest before anything happens." Samuel spoke, "But first, I think you and I both need a break."

"And…" Samuel began, "I do… Care about you. Very deeply." He placed a hand on your shoulder and pulled you against his leg, "I won't let you slip through my fingers, this time."

You flushed, knocking your head against the giant cyborg's hip, "Oh you're too sweet, Sam."

He chuckled, "Really? Usually you'd beg to differ."

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The ARC facility was, quite frankly, beautiful. You had just gotten here a few minutes ago, but you were already in awe with what you've seen so far.

It was a city, a  _ real _ ,  _ functional _ city— With skyscrapers, lights, buildings, and  _ everything _ .

Around the city was a thick concrete wall, and you mean thick. It had to have been around 30 feet of solid concrete. 

There were watch towers planted here and there along the wall, along with large turret guns and spotlights that scanned the area outside of the wall. 

"The Barricade", as Sam called it, did just that; barricaded the city within.

There were a few UAC and ARC divisions within the city, everyone had a place to be in and a job to do.

Thankfully, Samuel had managed to salvage the non-cultist UAC members and supplies and turn them into ARC faculties, but there were still secret UAC bunkers where cultist members hung out; one of the biggest known bases being the place where Flynn killed Deag Ranak.

The repurposed UAC bases were used for researching how to reverse the effects of demonic corruption. Most people who worked at the UAC were the medics or scientists who aided the in-city survivors.

ARC, on the other hand, was more about the defense, it had to be the biggest thing here. There were so many different levels of the military, when Samuel was listing them off to you they just seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

You could remember a few interesting sounding ones off of the top of your head like the survivor aid, mechanical engineers, and bio-weaponists, but God, there were so many more.

The ARC headquarters itself was highly protected. Only specialized personnel could even get close to the building… Which apparently, you were one of those personnel.

Sam opened the door to your new quarters at the tippy top of the military building, "Quit complaining, we're here." He shushed your whining about your foot, then unlocked the door with a swipe of his hand. Fancy.

He opened it up for you, and you walked in afterwards.

It looked like a really fancy hotel. A nice big bed in the center of the room along with a small kitchen, TV, balcony, and what you're assuming is a door to the bathroom.

Samuel ducked in after you, "Well. Get comfortable." He spoke, "Rest, take a shower, whatever you need to do."

He glanced around for a moment as you walked around and looked at all of the things in the room. You immediately dumped all of your items onto the countertop and jumped onto the bed.

It was nice to finally have somewhere to call your own, albeit just one room.

You've been so used to sleeping on top of Flynn or Ba'al or on their couches, or atop Vega or Samuel's lap, but now that you had a bed all to yourself, you felt like royalty.

"Tomorrow morning I'll be back with your keycard and identification band so you can open your door."

You sat up on the bed, watching as Sam stopped himself as he moved to the door.

"You— You're… Leaving?" You questioned, sliding off of the bed to stand.

"My office is in the next building over with the main UAC laboratories and research complexes." Samuel pointed out the balcony door and up to the top of the building beside the one you were in.

You mouthed an "oh". 

It hurt the cyborg just as much as it did you for him to be leaving so soon, he wanted to stay and never let you go. 

He was so…  _ Scared _ when you didn't come back on time. Hayden felt like he almost lost you again… Like when you left for hell.

It can't happen again. He promised he wouldn't let it. But he always just has this lingering anxiety about you.

You're the  _ one _ thing in the world he cares so much about.

Yet he always seems to fuck it up, somehow.

"You'll be sleeping, anyways." Hayden joked, you nodded sadly, it was true… But that doesn't mean you liked it.

You didn't want to be alone with your thoughts. You wanted someone,  _ anyone _ , even Sam to distract you from the writhing thoughts at the back of your head.

The cyborg's stark jokes and sarcasm could do you some good right now. His company was very much needed.

"I'll be back before you wake up." He reassured.

You nodded, watching as he grabbed the door handle.

"W-Wait—" 

He did. You walked over to the cyborg, slowly wrapping yourself around his leg as a hug goodbye.

Samuel chuckled, patting your head as the two of you separated. Hayden bent down, but he didn't even have to tap his face before you pressed a fat kiss on his cheek, making his argent ports surge a vibrant blue. 

He seemed happier than just a moment prior. When he stood back up his shoulders were held higher, then, he was on his way.

You decided to shower before sleeping to not grime up the bed. You still had Ba'al's blood matted into your hair…

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True to his word, Sam was there to wake you up the next morning.

When you crawled out of bed half asleep, Hayden grabbed your arm and clipped a black band around your wrist.

It seemed to be a metal, it was a matte black with no apparent buttons or sensors on it; just a fourth of an inch thick metal band.

"What's this?" You groggily asked, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

"It's a tether chip, and your keycard band." He muttered, busy trying to slip it into your small wrist, "Just swipe your hand to open your room door, and tap it for anything you need."

He pressed his rubberized fingertip against the top of it. A hologram hovered above your arm with the basic stats like time, location, weather, and notification tab. Other things were there, too, like your heart rate and other stats like that.

"You can contact me at any time from it." Samuel informed, "It should also prove useful in seeing where you are in the city and if you get lost in these buildings." 

You snickered, "I do have a tendency to forget things, hm?"

Samuel sighed, "More than you know."

"Oh, and…" He held out his hand, "This is yours."

You looked down, grasping the item in his hand, "My Sentinel switchblade?" You gasped, moving to flip open the knife.

"I managed to recover it with one of my Mars drones. I… Regret not giving it to you sooner." Hayden sighed.

With a smile, you looked up to him, "Thank you." 

He nodded, leaning down and bonking the top of your forehead with his face.

The two of you spent the whole day trying to accustom you to everything. You were introduced to the other ARC leaders, and Samuel proudly showed you off as his new second hand.

People snickered as they walked by, recalling the photo of him with you pinned up against the wall. Most of the ARC employees thought it was complete bullshit, 100% fake.

But now, seeing Samuel actually being nice to you? They thought it was somewhat plausible.

Hayden even took you to the cafeteria and bought you one of your favorite snacks, Coco Cacos, and watched as you stuffed your face full of them like some child.

It was a good day. However… 

You couldn't sleep that night.

At all.

You woke up around 1 AM sniveling about Flynn and Ba'al. It was a shitty nightmare, and you couldn't seem to stop crying after you thought about it more.

You knew Flynn was in bad shape from the reports coming in, you dreamt of him collapsing while he was fighting for you. And you couldn't even dare think of what Grav was doing to Ba'al for saving you.

The bracelet on your arm buzzed saying your heart rate was too high and told you too much adrenaline was pumping through you.

You swiped away the notification and inhaled, but not a second later, the sound of your door unlocking startled the shit out of you.

You almost jumped whoever was in your doorway, before you identified a familiar blue slit.

Hayden slowly closed the door behind him, "You're awake?"

"H-How'd you know?" You questioned.

He looked down to the bracelet on your arm, "Just a lucky guess. May I?" He motioned to the bed besides you.

You scoot over. It was only a queen sized bed, so his giant legs just barely swung off the edge, and his large robotic frame almost shoved you off before he grabbed your shoulder and pulled you close to his chest.

"I know I may not be… The most comfortable—" He began.

"I don't care." You cut him off, your voice wavering, "I just— N-Need you here r-right now."

He pulled you closer, "I know you do." 

In all reality, he needed you to be here, too.

"D-Don't go—" You held his bulky torso as best as you could. 

His bright Argent ports hurt your eyes and he was pointy and stabby but you didn't care. You couldn't be alone anymore.

"I'm not leaving." Hayden reassured.

It was true. He wasn't going anywhere.

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And he didn't. He talked in that smooth voice of his until you fell asleep with your ear pressed against his chest, and he didn't move until you woke up.

That meant he stayed still and laid in an uncomfortable position for 9 solid hours as you slept. He hasn't really tried to lay in a bed since becoming a robot, and god he is never gonna try it again.

That was 2 days ago, you'd awkwardly woke up the next morning and sheepishly peeled yourself off of him. Hayden joked about you leaving dents in his tungsten exoskeleton you were holding on so hard, which made you even more flushed.

Ever since then you've been settling into the rhythm of things, you were measured up for armor and got to talk to more of the other ARC subdivisions leaders. 

Yesterday Hayden made you do a required fitness and durability test that all soldiers went through to gather their strengths. You got a perfect 5 stars across all of the categories, 100/100%. They said that was the first time that's ever happened.

But, it exhausted you, so as you sat up in bed, your muscles ached.

Hayden sat at the foot of your bed, a cup of coffee in one of his large hands, platter of breakfast in the other. 

He leant over and kissed your cheek as you woke all the way up, "Mm, what's all this?"

The coffee was shoved into your hand and the food sat atop your lap, "You need to have energy. The Gore Nest must be taken care of, we are going to go and begin planning."

You yawned trying to forced yourself to wake up enough to eat, then he ushered you to eat up the pancakes and eggs he brought you, then get dressed. Samuel was already halfway out the door by the time you finally got out of bed.

Your muscles ached with everything you did, but you powered through it as Sam led you to the weapons and armory units.

People have been greeting you as "Commander [L/n]" which was odd to hear, but you shrugged it off and smiled like Sam told you to.

Samuel showed you to your weapon locker, then went to retrieve your armor, saying it was "Specially made, just for you."

You were hyped. You always loved getting new armor, especially when it actually fits you properly, unlike your old hell expedition mech or the Sentinel suit.

Samuel pulled you into a side room, then walked you over to an armor stand with red polished armor propped up on it with a patch that read "ARC SPECIALTY - [L/N]" sewn into it.

He explained to you that it was one of a kind; the lowest idle soldiers got black armor, the next soldiers up got grey, the generals got white, and you, the commander, got red.

Hayden didn't even have time to ask if you liked it, before you squealed and immediately began to throw off your clothes to get into the under armor.

The cyborg flushed and tried to divert his attention, but you were suited up pretty fast so, unfortunately for him, he couldn't drink in too much of your small form.

"Does it fit?" He questioned as you slipped on your boots and strapped in the rest of your utility pouches.

"Yes—!" You spoke, moving to grab your helmet and pop it on, "It's a little tight but it's better than loose." Your voice came out all scratchy as if you were talking over a radio.

You moved to clip your two knives into one of the many utility pouches, patting your hands on your knees before you stood, "I'm ready when you are."

Samuel nodded towards the doors to the portal room. When you got there, everyone was ready to send you two off.

"Gore Nest extraction point ready." A scientist spoke as the portal ripped open. You were hesitant yet excited as you followed Samuel in, unsure of what was to come.

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"So." Vega spoke, watching as Flynn stared at his armor being repaired.

He looked up to the ceiling, "I have something you might want to see."

Flynn hummed, sitting back in his chair further, "What's up?"

"ARC Battalion have moved closer to the Super Gore Nest. Records show they previously tried to attack it, but half of their units were lost."

Suddenly, he paused for a moment, "Another ARC Broadcast has been sent." 

Flynn looked up, "Whazzit say?"

**_> ARC Broadcast//:Log_06_ **

_ This is the Resistance Network. _

_ In a shocking turn of events, the long lost Elite Guard [Y/n] [L/n]— who was previously thought to be dead— has been appointed to be Commander of the ARC and Samuel Hayden's second in charge. _

_ After an extended time on the Phobos base, we have safely transported Dr. Hayden and Commander [L/n] back down to Earth to continue leading the remaining human population. _

_ Immediately, she has decided to take charge and aid Samuel Hayden in the destruction of the Gore Nest. _

_ No plans have been enforced yet, we will update you as we get them. _

_ Stay safe out there. _

Flynn's hands squeezed around his helmet as he staggered to put it on.

"Is she…?" Taggart couldn't finish the question, he thought it was too good to be true.

"On Earth." Vega concluded for him.

Flynn felt himself unable to move. Finally, a lead to where you were! Yet…

He was so scared he couldn't believe it, what if you weren't really there?

It seems so easy… Something must be wrong.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Vega spoke up, "If she's there with the ARC, rescue her and evacuate. Don't try to take on any demons because you are  _ not _ in the right condition since you refuse to sleep or shower or eat. You are weaker than when you came home." 

Flynn huffed, "So? S'not like it'll matter. I have my suit." 

"Your unfinished suit, you mean? You damaged it so badly that I haven't been able to properly fix it with the time or resources given." 

Flynn squinted at his suit, "As long as the Argent processors still work." The marine began ripping his armor down.

Flynn looked down to his helmet in his hands, shakily inhaling as he pulled it on.

Vega spoke up within his helmet, "You are totally going to disregard what I said, aren't you?"

Flynn smirked, "I can't help it."

Vega scoffed as he began to power up the portal in the hub, Flynn stomping through the fortress to the slipgate. "I'm going to have to start using reverse psychology on your dumbass." 

Flynn snorted, cocking his shotgun as the portal opened all the way.

It's time to bring you home.

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	37. 37 | REUNITION : III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY i actually rewrote chapter 16 again , i have something planned for later chapters 👀 and needed to update so be sure and reread that for some more ba'al , sybrus , and sentinel reader backstory

[ drawing comp ](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/643505874471649280/spacegoat4ever-read-yrwys-here-made-by-the) by spacegoat

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Samuel looked down to you, "You know what happened here last time, correct?"

You stopped looking at the hologram in front of you, blinking up to the cyborg, "A little bit. They tried to attack the nest once before, right?"

"The AN and I made a plan to come and attack the force after UAC cultists were seen near here setting up hell portals."

"We were all getting geared up. Then the AN sent their subsection of ARC troops behind my back. They purposefully went too early, they wanted to one up me. Show the world they didn't need me."

"I told them _specifically_ to wait for my arrival so I could give them the correct resources." Hayden spoke, turning and bending in half to look at a small human-sized computer.

The cyborg let out a sour chuckle, "It's amazing, once again I ended up having to save them and bring them home, burning through more troops than necessary."

With a grunt, you angrily looked down to the hologram of the Gore Nest. Trying to plan another attack was hard, especially since you've been off of your game for so long.

Samuel turned back around with a folder in hand. He sat it down in front of you as you moved to look over it.

_ > Report File: #ARC-AAR-CO37// COMMSEC: Red// _

_Operation Locke AAR follows:_

_Following reports of UAC Cultist presence at the Locke reactor (#ARC-AAR0-A291), recon teams Infil-Gamma and Infil-Hector attempted to gain entry to Locke and assess the situation. Their final transmission indicated a massive demonic presence entering the reactor facility through Continuum Gates (sic: Hell portals)._

_An emergency Global Council meeting approved an immediate ARC response to the situation at the Locke reactor. The Assembled Coalition Strike Force included 4 US Battle Mech divisions, the Con-EUR Long Range Naval Artillery Barrage Fleet, 27 US Night Bird Apaches, 3 NATO Shock Trooper battalions, 2 CON-EUR Rapid Response Levi-Tank divisions, and 18 thousand coalition Special Forces units,_

_The initial bombardment from the LRNAB was met with immediate response from invasion forces. An estimated 8 thousand DP-013G units (sic: Gargoyles) attacked the fleet, sinking 32 vessels and disabling a further 78% of the fleet. The remaining ships retreated to a position approximately 32 miles off shore, beyond the reach of the Gargoyles, but also out of artillery range._

You looked up at Sam, "18 thousand…"

"18 thousand." He repeated, then pointed out of the window of the massive tank you were in, "We're here."

Out of the window where Hayden was pointing was a disgusting mass of throbbing meat attached to the skeleton of a building.

You could only see the top of the fleshy structure, but you knew you did not want to go anywhere near it at all. It even affected the buildings around it, gross tentacles grabbing onto the scaffolding of fallen buildings.

There were swarms of demons flying above it. You almost mistook them for pink-ish storm clouds before realizing it was a mass of demons, eating each other mid air.

"They're working on hacking into the building's security cameras so we can assess the situation before going closer." Samuel zoomed out from the hologram, "There's a building closed up enough we can take shelter in. It's 3 miles away from us now, half a mile from the nest." 

One of the tank drivers poked his head into the chamber you and Samuel were in, "They're requesting you outside. They got into the cameras."

Samuel stood, opening the door of the tank and hopping down. You followed after him.

There were two military trucks accompanying you. One was full of ARC Soldiers, and the other was carrying 3 drones.

A scientist walked up to you and Samuel, providing a screen, "So what we have gathered so far; there's a few demons guarding the ground, most of them are in the sky, but I'm sure as soon as we approach, they will deploy more ground troops."

You looked down to the camera, seeing the fuzzy footage of demons shooting at one another.

"Anything on the other cameras?" Hayden asked.

"Negative. Nothing noteworthy, at least. We can't get as close as we need to, so we'll use these once we get to the building. We don't have the equipment available, but that building does." The scientist motioned towards the drones. 

"It doesn't look like much is going on down there." The soldiers behind you spoke.

"Permission to move forward, Commander?" They turned to you.

You looked up to Samuel, then nodded, "The fodders look like nothing we can't take on." 

The soldiers nodded as you all packed up back into your trucks, sitting and waiting until you reached the safe building.

Once you were all there, some soldiers got out and tore open the doors to the warehouse, and you drove your vehicles in.

When you stepped out of the tank, it was hotter than before, and the distant cry of demons could be heard, even through the concrete walls.

As you and your troops led the way through the concrete skyscraper, you stopped at a central command station.

You spoke into the comm in your helmet, "All clear. We're ready when you are. 2nd floor."

Hayden replied with, "Good work." then led his scientists up to where you were.

The scientists hurried to set up the monitors, hooking up the three drones quickly. They suddenly buzzed to life, making you take a step back in shock.

Within a second, they buzzed off, and the computers clicked on to display their view. They got to the Gore Nest fairly quickly, showing off just how destroyed and disgustingly corrupted the city was.

You all peered at the monitors, staring at the mass of flesh.

"It seems there's more demons than before!" The scientist quickly looked to you, "Do you think they detected us? You've been in hell for 3 years, do you know how they work?!"

Everyone's heads slowly turned to you as you watched the monitors with furrowed brows.

"No." You spoke, "Not from here. They're dumber than dirt." 

"They…" You began, watching on the cameras as all of their heads swiveled to the right.

"They're after something else."

Everyone looked back to the monitor, watching as one of the demon's heads exploded.

You all stared in shock, before the camera moved to focus on what the demons were; a familiar green suit of armor.

Your breath caught in your lungs.

It was him… He was right outside…

You watched as Flynn took hit after hit, everyone worried about what The Slayer would do if they found them, but you were worried about the opposite; what if he _didn't_ find you? 

He's trying to take this on _injured_ and _alone_ when it took down almost 18 thousand soldiers?

They were all muttering with fear, Samuel stood watching just as close as you were.

You turned to him, "He needs help." 

"No." Hayden looked down to you, "He chose to take it on alone, he can face the consequences."

You furrowed your brows, "He's _one_ man."

"He single-handedly took down the beast that Olivia became. He can take this—" 

"But he is hurt. Your own reports even said so. He's weakened. He _needs_ help."

The ARC workers behind you two silenced as they watched you and Samuel argue, scared that they'd have to go into the Nest.

"More people will cause a chain reaction. They'll see you and deploy as many demons as possible. It'll end in failure."

You grit your teeth, "Fine."

Samuel huffed, thinking that he had won the argument when you turned on your heel and walked through the soldiers behind you.

They quickly parted to let you through, Samuel turning to call after you, "Where are you going?"

"If you aren't going to help him, I am."

Samuel charged after you as you began your descent down back to the trucks, "No you are not, [Y/n]."

"You're right. More people will cause more demons, which is why it's better if I go alone. It's harder to detect only one person versus a squad of people." 

"[Y/n]," Hayden urged, watching as you yanked open the truck and stuffed bullets and grenades into your utility belt.

" _[Y/n]_ ." He grabbed your arm harshly as you turned to go to the exit of the building, "You will _die_."

You looked up to him, "I survived in hell, didn't I?" 

You could tell that remark had just pissed Hayden off by the way his circuits buzzed and his hand held onto you tighter.

You pulled your arm away, picking up your gun and turning to the door.

"[Y/n]!" Samuel barked as you pushed open the heavy door, hot air blasting you in the face as you clicked your helmet on.

You glanced back at his approaching figure once more, before you slipped out of the door, your boot squishing in juicy flesh.

The comm within your helmet crackled on, "You don't know what you're doing. Come back." 

"I know enough," You spoke back, "Plus, if you are right about The Doom Slayer, that he can take this on all by himself, then he can make sure that I don't get hurt."

"And how are you so certain he would do such a thing?" Hayden questioned, watching you through one of the drones.

"We're friends." You spoke.

The soldiers all looked to one another, Hayden felt his grip in the tabletop tighten.

Demon after demon flew your way once you got close enough to the nest. It was honestly nothing you couldn't handle, though.

You could see the Nest behind the building you were standing behind— Or, half of a building. It was so torn and beat up it fell right into two, the Gore Nest swallowing the rubble whole and growing disgusting flesh over it.

"The Slayer went inside." Samuel spoke, "He has it handled, come back." 

"Where's the entrance?" You questioned, peeking your head around the corner to see the battle field full of demon carcasses.

" _[Y/n]._ " Samuel pressed.

"Where's the entrance?" You repeated.

A guard in white behind Samuel stepped up, speaking into the com, "E-Excuse me, Doctor. It may not be my place, but we just watched Commander [L/n] crawl on top of a Mancubus and carve its guts out. I-I think she may be okay."

Hayden stared blankly at the soldier's helmet, making him shuffle his feet.

Angrily, Samuel turned back to the monitors, muttering under his breath.

The soldier was right, and he hated it.

You smirked victoriously in your helmet as Samuel finally answered, "Straight ahead." 

With a determined inhale, you turned the corner and ran to the base of the meat monument.

You charged full speed, only faltering when you saw the teeth parted open, "I don't have to go in the tooth hole, do I?"

"You were the one who chose to do this."

You sighed, having to slide down a ditch and climb back up on the other side before you could enter.

There were three podiums, each with a color coded bone-like apparatus shoved into them, and the teeth opened to reveal the goop on the inside.

You held your breath, stealing your nerve and hopping into the entrance of the Gore Nest.

The floor was slimy and you slipped here and there as you tried to skate around dismembered demon bodies.

You knew Flynn had already been here due to the fact everything was dead, and there was a dent in the door ahead in the perfect shape of his gauntlet.

"Our drone cannot track you anymore from within. Keep us updated." 

"I'm inside. Nothing so far." You spoke quietly, your heart was pounding inside your chest, so hard you could even feel it in your toes.

You had to pry open the door that Flynn had decided to break, grunting as your heartbeat seemed to grow louder.

Wait, that's not your heart—

Behind the glass in the next room was a disgusting pulsating heart, making your skin crawl.

The bottom half of it had withered and wilted, seeing as the power core it was attached to had been activated.

Slowly, you moved to the next room, not daring to take your eyes off of it. You meekly walked up to the computer system to try and see what was going on.

The screen read "POWER FAILURE: 1 / 2 REACTORS TURNED ON".

"The power is half off, the heart is around a power core." You informed, trying to see if you could access the map.

"Turning on the power could potentially destroy the nest. Are you able to reach the second reactor?" Samuel ordered one of the scientists to try and pull up a map of the place.

"I'm trying to access the map." You spoke.

"Are there any demons currently there?" Samuel questioned, "On the drones there are a few, but nothing like before."

"No, I fought a few but… They're all dead." You hurriedly kept trying to swipe through the computer.

"The troops and I are on our way to aid you." Hayden concluded.

"Alright, just watch out for the ditch I almost— Huh?"

The computer screen suddenly changed, saying two out of two reactors were turned on.

"What's wrong?" Samuel pressed.

"It says they're both on? I don't know how."

"Is there a way to activate the power supply?" Samuel questioned.

You looked down to the power deck, "Yeah, there's a lever."

"Pull it. It will most likely self-destruct. Get out as fast as you can. We will be there to extract you shortly."

"Alright." You moved and grasped the lever, sucking a breath in before you moved to push it upwards.

"I did it, nothing really happene—" You cut yourself off by yelping as the door to the right was thrown off the rolling hinges.

The ground shook after that as the heart spasmed and rubble fell from the ceiling.

Sam called your name, panicking. But you didn't reply, you were too focused on the doorway.

You threw your gun up, but when you focused on the figure standing in the hall your knees almost buckled.

As you looked them over, you felt your eyes fill with tears.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I am unable to locate the ARC Battalion station. They have cloaked themselves due to the remaining cultist UAC being able to pick up their signals. Even though we saw the drones in the sky, tracing them back hasn't done much."

Flynn grunted at the news. He's not sure how longer he could push on. 

His helmet had a crack through the visor, and his gauntlets knuckles were dented and busted. The light in his chest kept flickering, meaning the suit could die soon.

Vega was very unhappy. Flynn had done the exact thing he told him not to do. Instead of waiting for Vega to assess the situation, Flynn said "oh fuckin' well" and jumped headfirst into an arachnotron.

He took out the first few hordes of demons like it was nothing, but then he unlocked the gates of the Gore Nest and buffed demons began pouring out of the front.

That's when he damaged his suit. 

Thankfully, he'd already turned on half of the core's power, and he was about to pull the switch on the next reactor.

"She… She's gotta be 'round here somewhere…" Flynn huffed.

Vega's voice faltered, "Actually…"

Flynn came to a stop, "Actually?"

"I'm picking up… Radio interference." 

"What's that mean?" Flynn questioned, squinting.

"I'll just let you listen." Vega's voice was replaced with static, then someone else's voice.

" _I… Trying t… Th… Map_." The voice through the static spoke.

Wait… No. That was.

 _Your_ voice.

A voice much deeper began to talk, but Flynn couldn't make it out.

"Apologies, the signal in here is very disturbed. You can only hear [Y/n] because she is close."

" _Close?_ " Flynn heaved, suddenly his shoulders tensed up.

"Yes. But continue towards the power switch. It will give me more time to try and grab her location chip."

Flynm nodded, moving to go to the core switch.

" _No, I… A few but… They… All dead_." 

Your voice became clearer as he moved to the switch. His steps became more hurried as he could hear you clearer.

" _Alright_ ," Your voice was clear as day as he reached the switch, " _Just watch out for the ditch I almost—_ "

Flynn pulled the lever, watching as the Argent seeped through the walls.

" _Huh?_ " You seemed to have noticed, " _It says they're both on? I don't know how._ "

There was a moment of silence.

" _Yeah, there's a lever_."

"If she pulls that lever, the whole place will explode." Vega spoke.

Flynn looked up, wait— He knew where that was!

It was— Just through this door!

" _I did it, nothing really happene—_ "

Flynn moved to leave, having to slam open the door to the main room back open.

Your squeal was heard in his ears, and adrenaline ran through him as he saw a silhouette standing at the computer.

You quickly aimed your gun up at him, but stopped as you saw who it was. You then lowered your gun, watching as Flynn stood on the other side of the terminal.

Vega suddenly spoke up in your ears, "I have connected your comms." 

You choked out a " _Vega—_ " Unable to believe that they were here and this was happening.

"I'm here, [Y/n]."

Suddenly, you began to feel your knees failing to hold you up, trying to take a few steps forward, " _Flynn—_ "

He scaled the distance for the both of you, moving to wrap his large arms around your small frame.

You threw yourself around him, holding onto each other as you snivelled like a baby.

His large gauntlets moved to grab your helmet, reaching to bring your visor to his, bonking your foreheads together to look at each other's faces.

Flynn was smiling, and you could've sworn a tear rolled down his cheek. It was then when you realized how hurt he was, pulling away to assess the damage done.

"Don't worry 'bout it." He spoke, his voice scratchier than usual.

You looked up to him, "You know I can't do that." 

The ground shook, making the two of you grasp ahold of one another again.

Vega spoke up, "I hate to ruin this, but you are in an exploding building." 

You and Flynn looked to one another, nodding your heads as you dashed out of the main room.

The front entrance was blocked off, so you both had to take a sharp left. 

Somehow, you ended up in front of Flynn, and when you turned back, the walls caved in and blocked off his exit.

"Flynn?" You called.

"Jus' keep goin' forward, get yerself safe. I'll find another way out." 

You swallowed, hoping he was right, and turned on your heel.

When you finally made it out of the mess of flesh, you had to traverse through another building since you were on the wrong side.

As you emerged on the surface, you saw the two trucks and the ARC tank parked a few hundred feet away.

Samuel and your troops saw you, moving to come to your side before they all suddenly stopped.

Their guns all slowly pointed behind you.

You startled, turning around to see a blue portal forming just to your right.

Flynn stepped through, and suddenly all the ARC guards began to shake in their boots.

Samuel looked to you, extending his crucible blade and holding a hand out to you, "[Y/n], get behind me." 

You opened your mouth to speak, before a large hand grabbed your arm. 

All the ARC troopers gasped, watching as The Slayer tugged you behind himself, eyeing Samuel down.

Flynn was pissed to be face-to-face with the robo asshole. Samuel was the whole reason you were gone, the whole reason his fortress was shut down, the whole reason he couldn't repair his armor.

Hayden was going to _pay_.

Flynn clenched his fists.

"Flynn, _don't—_ " Vega tried.

But, did Flynn ever listen? 

Nope.

He lunged forward and scaled about fifty feet in less than a second.

Samuel reacted quick, seeing The Slayer's busted gauntlet raise up and prepare for a punch. He raised the crucible blade just before he could get close enough and—

The tip of the blade tapped against the red power core in Flynn's praetor suit. Red sparks flashed in everyone's eyes.

Flynn was already weak, and such a power surge like that he couldn't handle.

He stood for a moment, swaying, before the sound of him collapsing against the concrete was heard.

You yelped and ran over, the ARC soldiers were impressed with Samuel, yet scared shitless he'd stand back up and slaughter them all.

Samuel, on the other hand, stood tall, looking at the disheveled marine on the ground. Truth was, the man fucking terrified the cyborg, but would he admit that?

"Is he okay?" You cried to Vega.

"Yes, he is fine. Just tired."

You could tell Vega was tired, too. He sighed, connecting to everyone's comms, " _Samuel_." He spoke, his tone harsher than you've ever heard before.

Samuel seemed surprised to hear the AI's voice, humming, " _Vega_." 

The two did not seem to like one another.

"I cannot create an extraction portal until his armor is fixed. _You_ broke it, _you_ fix it." 

Samuel looked down as you held The Slayer close to you, his helmet in your lap, "I was only acting in self defense." 

"The Gore Nest will blow up in 2 minutes. I suggest you pack up and leave." Vega spoke harshly, "The Slayer will need medical assistance. But do not expect him to cooperate."

The ARC troops quickly filed back into their truck, the three scientists staring in fear from theirs.

You moved to try and pick up Flynn, groaning since your muscles were so sore, "Sam—"

He turned to look at you.

"Help me, please?" You pleaded, unable to even begin to lift the behemoth.

Hayden watched you struggle for a moment. He huffed as he bent down and easily picked up the 1,000 pound armored man, dragging him into the tank.

The cyborg dropped him carelessly onto the floor.

You sighed, this was going be something… 

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**Author's Note:**

> [book cover](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/post/634899409141940224)   
>  [quiz](https://www.quotev.com/quiz/12948792/which-giant-man-loves-you?_slfl)   
>  [tumblr](https://1-800-sat-anic.tumblr.com/)   
>  [twitter](https://twitter.com/1_800_SAT_ANIC?s=09)   
>  [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/1_800_sat_anic/)   
>  [discord server](https://discord.gg/hc6Uzxr)   
>  [wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/1-800-SAT-ANIC)   
>  [quotev](https://www.quotev.com/1800SATANIC/published)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [NO, I'M WITH THE SCIENCE TEAM!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851289) by [MommaRaindrop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MommaRaindrop/pseuds/MommaRaindrop)
  * [Demon Shock](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27639827) by [OceanAstronautLL](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanAstronautLL/pseuds/OceanAstronautLL)




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